A Walk on the Moon (c) Joan Marcus
Theater: A Walk on the Moon
At the Laura Pels Theatre
If you think the titular walk by Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969 would lean heavily on the metaphor of change and breaking the status quo in the new musical, A Walk on the Moon, you don’t know the half of it. Based on the 1999 film, directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Diane Lane and Viggo Mortensen, the musical, adapted by Pamela Gray on her film script, focuses on one Jewish family in the Catskills on that fateful summer-of-‘69 intersection between the moon landing and a certain musical festival in nearby Woodstock. The four couples who vacation together every summer are enjoying everything they always have, from the mahjong games to the knish parties. But something feels off for Pearl (Talia Suskauer), whose daughter Alison (Sophie Pollono) is turning 16, the same age she was when she got pregnant by her now husband, Marty (Max Chernin). Mother and daughter have an awakening when Pearl starts to flirt with the new blouse salesman (Sam Gravitte) making the rounds selling clothes with an unfortunate name, Walker, while Allison starts flirting with Timmy Chalamet wannabe musician Ross (Oscar Williams), as this newer generation is anti-war and pro-free love. There is a lot to enjoy about this modest Off-Broadway show, with the catchy, if slightly safe songs by AnnMarie Milazzo being quite likeable. Unfortunately, the adult love triangle never really feels dangerous or passionate, with a heavily symbolic tie-dyed tee doing all the heavy lifting for Pearl’s unfulfilled life (maybe if she chose The Feminine Mystique instead of On the Road for her summer read, she might have found her calling outside of her love life). Pollono has the better role as Alison, who starts out as a whiny teen but soon gets politically aware (thanks to her love of Joni Mitchell), gets the best of Milazzo’s songs and has real chemistry with Williams. Similar in tone to the musical version of The Bridges of Madison County, the protagonists of both make very pragmatic decisions, which here feel old-fashioned rather than of the times, which were indeed a changin’.
Music City (c) Jeremy Daniel
Theatre: Music City
At St. Luke’s Theatre
It didn’t take long before I realized the enjoyable Music City was a jukebox musical using the music of hit songwriter J.T. Harding as the basis of the show instead of having him write songs organically for the plot. When Peter Zinn’s book includes odd elements like one character being named 23 or having a character oddly choosing a career out-of-the-blue, it’s more than likely they would be referenced in a pre-existing song. This Jenga-ing is the one element that felt false in an otherwise likeable and well-acted production by Eric Tucker. Music City, which was a hit show for the Bedlam theater company two years ago, has finally made a jump with a commercial run (after some hiccups with a venue and a late cast replacement) and is now comfortably ensconced at St. Luke’s Theatre. The show revolves around songwriting brothers TJ (Stephen Michael Spencer) and Drew (Jonathan Judge-Russo), who perform their songs at the open-mic night at Nashville’s Wicked Tickle. When they are approached to provide some songs for legendary country singer Stucky Stiles (an effectively hammy Andrew Rothenberg), they have second thoughts as they want to perform their own songs. Enter the aforementioned 23 (Lauren Lolo Pritchard, from Spring Awakening), another singer-songwriter who just moved nearby and starts to flirt and write songs with TJ. Their new collaboration might be the performing act that could break through. J.T. Harding’s most well-known song to non-country music fans is “Smile” by Uncle Kracker, but I know him for the Kenny Chesney song, “Somewhere With You” which features his signature clever wordplay (which sometimes gets lost in Jane Shaw’s otherwise first-rate sound design). The songs are all very catchy, especially “Sangria,” a Blake Shelton hit. The cast sings the songs with passion and verve, with Spencer and Prichard sweating through the more complex one, with their prerequisite twang intact. The rest of the cast play a variety of characters effectively, with Leenya Rideout as 23’s drug addicted mother and the music label scout being the most impressive. Be sure to come early to the show as the production invites real-life singers to do songs before the show to get the audience into the open-mic milieu. Music City is the energetic and entertaining musical that midtown Manhattan didn’t know it needed but is richer for it.
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (c) Marc J. Franklin
Theater: Are You Now or Have You Ever Been
At City Center Stage I
Eric Bentley’s play, Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, based on real life testimonies during the Communist witch hunt trials that started in 1947, feels even more relevant now in the MAGA world of Antifa demonization than the Nixon administration when it premiered in 1972. Based on the theory that anyone with any relation to Communist, especially in lefty Hollywood, must be on the Red Scare plan of infiltrating the American way. Bentley’s play focuses mainly on the Hollywood Ten, giving the best moments to the men (except one notable exception) who pushed back from the House Un-American Activities committee led by chairman (Michael McKean) and his two underlings (Adam Kantor and Jason Babinsky). In director Anna D. Shapiro’s concept, the three actors playing the politicians stay the same, with a rotating cast playing the other roles, depending on when you see the show. I am catching the production after the opening night, in mid-June with most of the starry opening night cast (Andrew McCarthy, David Krumholtz and Jay O. Sanders) already rotated out. But credit to Shapiro who must rehearse with each new actor. I felt like I saw a phenomenal cast. Ben Rappaport as the blacklisted actor Larry Parks is the most heartbreaking as his testimony is the most calm and logistical, as he obviously wants to be seen as patriotic without getting into the quagmire of naming names.
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (c) Marc J. Franklin
Thomas Sadoski gives the funniest and angriest performance as the actor Lionel Stander (who later in life would play the chauffeur assistant in the 1980s TV show Hart to Hart) wants to clear his name. But best of the major players has to be Billy Eugene Jones as actor Paul Robeson, who has the most damning evidence against him (he went to Russia and praised how they treat black people) but still shows the hypocrisy of this kangaroo court he has to answer to. Other actors like Brooks Ashmanskas, Frederick Weller and Stephen Boyer play multiple roles wonderfully, while Scott Adsit and Sally Murphy play the writers Abe Burrows and Lillian Hellman in smaller but no less powerful parts, respectively (Murphy is only heard as Hellman, as she never testified, but did write a letter to explain why). This is the last week with this current cast. Next week, starting on July 14, the new performers are Norbert Leo Butz, T.R. Knight, Harry Lennix, Bob Odenkirk and Molly Ringwald. I’m sure these actors as well as the ones scheduled to appear before the production ends in early September (include Santino Fontana, Steven Pasquale), will be equally great, but the commanding cast I saw felt peerless.
If you want to comment on these reviews, please do so on my Instagram account. All reviews have their own post. And please follow to know when new reviews are released.
