Theater: The Whoopi Monologues
At Lincoln Center Theatre
Director Whitney White has reconceived the theatrical work of Whoopi Goldberg and turned it into an enjoyable event for five black actresses to explore the diverse characters Goldberg wrote for herself and see them in a new way. Four of The Whoopi Monologues are from the comedian’s 1984 show supervised by director Mike Nichols, and the fifth is from her 2004 revival. The start of the performances is a variation on how the HBO special of her 1984 hit began in which Whoopi goes to the dressing room of each of the characters she’s going to portray to wish them good luck. We meet the five actresses as they dance their way onto the stage before entering their respective dressing rooms, with the wonderful Kara Young (Purpose) in an oversized men’s suit, kicking things up with Fontaine, a truth-telling junkie who serendipitously is transported from the mean streaks of New York to Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. Next up is Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) as a little black girl with a white shirt on her head because she doesn’t like her natural hair or her brown eye color. Danielle Pinnock (TV's Ghosts) in a fun blue wig is a Jamaican curios-stand owner who talks about being hired by a rich man she calls “the old raisin” and her adventures in America. Then it’s Kerry Washington (Scandal) playing a beach-loving valley girl (but really considers herself a surfer chick, if you don’t mind) who tells about a flirtation with a cute guy at a party and the aftermath. The final monologue focuses on Lureen (Hell’s Kitchen’s Kecia Lewis), an older black woman going through menopause, fanning herself from a hot flash she describes as “Dick Cheney at a gay wedding hot.”
The Whoopi Monologue (c) Angela Marie Orellana
Each of the actresses has a fun time creating their characters, most of them interacting and joking with the audience in some way, but they are also able create the pathos needed as each monologue takes a turn towards the serious by the end of their tale. The joy of watching Whoopi was her creating each character so quickly one after another. But each of these talented actresses get to dig deeper into their own characters with an honesty that is palpable, especially the shocking turn that Washington has to take as the valley girl. Helping them immensely are the costumes of Qween Jean, especially for Pinnock and Lewis. Note, the evening never stays in one time frame, with Flip Wilson’s Geraldine being dropped in one monologue, Sex and the City dropped in another and the biggest cheer coming from a casual dropping of “Knicks in five.”. It would have been interesting to see how White would have handled one of the dropped monologues with the disabled character actually being played by a person with a disability. There is a joyous and jubilant air to The Whoopi Monologues as the five talented actresses celebrate and honor the performer and writer who broke through many glass ceilings for this evening, forty-odd years later, to be possible.
Guilia (c) Andy Henderson
Theater: Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo
At P.A.C.
Despite the title cadence similarities with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (as well as the growing body count by the end of the play), Jennifer Nettles, the Grammy Award-winning performer and songwriter from the country band Sugarland, seems to be inspired more by Hamilton for her first musical. Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo starts in the 1600s like a traditional musical as we witness Giulia Tofana (Nettles) transform from Palermo’s helpful apothecary to vigilante for women, who in the 17th century had no recourse from abusive husbands. The impetus happens in her own home as she and her daughter Vitoria (Naomi Serrano) are under constant threat of violence by her husband Carlo (Matthew Amira). After taking matters in her own hands with a mighty elixir that glows in its bottle, Giulia starts to hear horror stories from other women and takes it upon herself to help in any way possible. Another storyline involves the town’s slimy new Governatore (Christopher M. Ramirez), who begins an unholy alliance with the church’s Cardinale (Quentin Earl Darrington)—mutually beneficial without actually helping Palermo, which is suffering from a horrible drought. These two storylines intersect when the Governatore meets and lusts after young Vitoria.
Guilia (c) Andy Henderson
Nettles has said she couldn’t shake the real-life story of Giulia Tofana from her mind and thought she would be the perfect heroine for a musical written by a woman. And sure enough, the songs are the highlights of the show, even if there’s a sameness to them, with the singer belting out the last note more so than usual in a modern musical. Still, there are some memorable tunes like “The River” and “Fly Away” (the song that feels the most country, sharing a similar message as the gospel hymn, “Let’s Fly Away”) that exhibits Nettles’ complex lyrics and catchy melodies. By the second act, a modern flair has taken over the music’s construction, incorporating sing-songy rap with clever rhymes, making the two acts feel very different from each other. Mary Zimmerman creates some visually poetic moments, but I grew tired of Daniel Ostling’s Let’s Make a Deal three doors concept pretty quickly. No notes on Ana Kuzmaníc’s beautiful costumes with floral hints in even the plainest of dresses to make the show’s point subtly. The whole cast sings with powerful conviction, although Ramirez might as well twirl his moustache, the way he savors every bad thing his character does. But if you’re a fan of Nettles, you will not be disappointed in the showy role she wrote for herself. Despite the wonderful work by everyone else involved, this is all Jennifer Nettles, including a mostly solo curtain call song, “Higher,” as the rest of the cast looks on adoringly.
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