Bus Stop (c) Carol Rosegg
Theater: Bus Stop
At Classic Stage Company (closing this weekend)
The plays of Pulitzer Prize-winning William Inge are rarely produced these days, even though he was seen, when he was most popular, as talented and important as his contemporaries: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. One reason is that his plays are most assuredly realistic and don’t tackle political or controversial issues of the day. But they are well-made plays, which was clear in the last Broadway revival of Picnic in 2013, which introduced Sebastian Stan to the world. And now you see it in the Classic Stage Company/NAATCO/Transport Group co-production of 1956’s Bus Stop, which is now only remembered for the Joshua Logan film starring Marilyn Monroe. The titular stop is a diner on a remote but heavily populated bus route in Missouri, run by Grace (a no-nonsense Cindy Cheung), with an assist by bright high school student Elma (Delphi Borich). On this particular night, there’s a big windy snowstorm, so the next bus is stranded there until it passes. On the bus is Cherie (the Marilyn Monroe part, played humorously by Midori Francis), a nightclub singer who has been abducted by a young cowboy named Bo (Michael Hsu Rosen, playing up the cluelessness rather than the brutishness), who asked Cherie to marry him, but never bothered to hear her answer (which is no).
Bus Stop (c) Carol Rosegg
Another passenger is Dr. Gerald Lyman (the wonderful Rajesh Bose), whom Elma, in need of intellectual stimulation, finds fascinating (they bond over Shakespeare). The acting troupe is the draw here, with the least interesting aspect being that they are Asian American, since they are all so well cast and no mention is made of their race in Jack Cummings III’s likeable production. One little quibble is the lack of verisimilitude of the storm: One would hope to at least see some snowflakes on clothes or at the very least the sound of the wind (which the characters even mention). Aside from the race of the cast, the production feels like it could have come from the 1950’s, although there also seem to be a hint of some gay attraction that must sadly remain silent (Inge was a closeted gay man). "Bus Stop" is an absolutely absorbing and lovely night at the theater.
Bowl EP (c) Carol Rosegg
Theater: Bowl EP
At the Vineyard Theatre
Rarely has a play confused me as much as Bowl EP, and yet it still fascinates me in its presentation. A co-production of the Vineyard, the New Group and the National Black Theatre, Nazareth Hassan’s play (which they also directed) is rather simple for the first two-thirds of its runtime: two young skateboarding rappers meet at an abandoned swimming pool to bounce song lyrics off each other (as well as ideas for their band name) while shamelessly flirting. The name of each of the short scenes are projected in the pool, labeled as “Tracks,” thus transforming the play into a sort of listening party for the album (or Bowl EP) they are trying to create. Kelly K Klarkson (no subtlety there) is, as played by Essence Lotus, the more sensitive and talented one, while Quentavius da Quitter (Oghenero Gbaje) is more of the business brains of the two. They flirt, eat, kiss, rap (Judah Girvan is the rap consultant) and take drugs. This last action leads to the appearance of Lemon Pepper Wings (Felicia Curry), an agent of chaos who talks directedly to the audience and tries to explain the history and relevance of what we are watching.
Bowl EP (c) Carol Rosegg
One misconception of this play surrounds a major aspect of the production, and that’s the construction of the empty pool in Adam Rigg & Anton Volovsek’s amazing set. The two actors occasionally skateboard in the bowl, giving the impression that skateboarding is a major plot element. It is not. There are themes of trauma and how art, in this case music, can sometimes exorcise the demons holding us back. Lemon Pepper Wings is the divisive element here, and while I was fascinated by her inclusion, even I, with no fault of the go-for broke Curry, was confused by the overload of symbolism LPW represents (from cutesy to hyperviolent) and what all this means to the two characters and to the audience. A theory I came up with is that these two are Didi and Gogo from Waiting for Godot, except unlike the Beckett play, Godot shows up. Maybe if Hassan had let someone else direct, there would have been more clarity and a satisfactory understanding of the themes. As it is, there is no doubt that Hassan possesses a unique vision, but like abstract paintings or rarefied music (Yoko Ono and Meredith Monk come to mind), a willingness to explore the abstract might be more than a matinee audience is willing to commit to.
The Phoenician Scheme (c) Focus Features
Film: The Phoenician Scheme
In Cinemas
There’s been a lot of discourse around The Phoenician Scheme, the latest film by Wes Anderson and his first full-length feature since his series of short Roald Dahl adaptations, one of which, The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar, won Anderson his first Oscar. The Phoenician Scheme premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month to both acclaim from his devotees (I count myself as one) and tepid shrugs from film fans who seem to tire of the Anderson aesthetic, namely deadpan line delivery, meticulous set and costume designs, the use of austere music and the twee style of storytelling. These things are here, but the critics had hopes for an evolution of his style, as if one goes to opera and complains that they are singing opera again. I found myself having giddy fun with Scheme, which has a plot as convoluted as anything in the Anderson cannon.
The Phoenician Scheme (c) Focus Features
Not since The Grand Budapest Hotel has there been an actual main character (as opposed to the ensemble spectacles of recent films), and while Benecio Del Toro may not possess the lighthearted charm of Ralph Fiennes in the previous film, his Anatole “Zsa Zsa” Korda, the ruthless businessman who has had many assassination attempts on his life, is quite bemusingly funny. Two relative newcomers to the Anderson acting troupe fill out the main cast: the droll Mia Threapleton plays Liesl, Korda’s only daughter, now a nun seen holding her rosary beads or a knife in equal amounts; and Michael Cera in one his best performances, playing Bjorn Lund, Liesl’s entomologist tutor. The plot involves filling in a small gap in the train tracks of a big scheme that Korda doesn’t want to pay for, so he has to convince his business partners to pony up the cash. There are too many cameos to mention here, but the most memorable have to be Riz Ahmed as a crown prince, Jeffrey Wright as an amiable wheeler and dealer with blood type 0 (very important) and in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him moment, Bill Murray as God. I will concede that The Phoenician Scheme is less funny than many of Anderson’s previous films, which doesn’t mean it’s not witty, just not a lot of LOL. But this is classic Wes Anderson. I hope he keeps making these trifles as long as he can.
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