Greetings from a week in London where the no parking signs have a number you can call if you need to clarify what WARNING PARKING SUSPENDED means.
The Entertainer, Garrick Theatre
In the Olympic spirit, I am proud to announce that as the house lights went down for the Entertainer I set a new world record for the fastest a 64 year old Jew ever fell asleep in a play.
Every time I came to nothing new had happened in this equally tired resurrection of a1957 drama, with Kenneth Branagh, which originally starred Sir Laurence Olivier. It’s the story of an aging song and dance man, his failed relationships and self destructive life decisions. Just when you think that life could not possibly be more miserable for these people the police arrive with news that their son was killed in the Suez.
This play may have resonated in the 1950s psyche of the fading British Empire, but every Brit we mentioned it to had the same reaction - horrible play by a horrible man (John Osborne). Unless you have incurable insomnia, put this one on your must not see list.
Groundhog Day, The Old Vic Theatre
The exercise of waking up in a world where
nothing is new was good preparation for Groundhog Day, an upbeat, fun and well done musical adaption of the 1993 Harold Ramis, movie.
Andy Karl, whose Broadway credits include Jersey Boys, does a wonderful job as the sleazy, pretty boy TV weatherman sent to Punxsutawney, Pa. for Groundhog Day where he finds himself trapped in a closed psychic loop that repeats itself each morning. The staging of this sci-fi tale of nightmarish repetition is skillful but more than once I found myself longing for a fast forward button.
946 The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips,
The Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre
This
is an exciting production of a play by Michael Morpurgo, (War Horse)
performed in the open air Globe Theatre. The story is based on a
children’s book about Black US GIs in a small Cornwall town that gets taken
over in 1944 by US troops as part of a disastrous D day landing rehearsal
Director Emma Rice, has taken a tragic war time drama and infused
it with physical comedy, puppetry, acrobatic dancing and great music. At
times members of the breathtakingly talented cast climb a ladder to join the
band on an overhanging ledge and then return to the stage by
sliding down a pole.
There is a stand out performance by Katy Owen in the role of the little girl at
the center of the story. Ms. Owen does some wonderfully funny things
with her body and her voice.
This is a kid’s story that promotes itself
as suitable for ages 7+. The nearby mother, hugging her sobbing little
girl at the play’s saddest moment might not agree with that.
A versatile cast of
dancers, singers and musicians playing multiple parts, rocked the house which included 100’s
of young people, who bought 5 pound tickets to stand for 2 /1/2 hours in the
open area of the Globe Theatre. We looked down on them from our benches with rented cushions and
seat backs.
It's a safe bet that if the Bard was watching the show from the rafters - he was
smiling.
Good news- It's coming to St. Ann's Warehouse
for a run in March and April 2017.
