Summer and Smoke (Clurman Theater)

BOTTOM LINE: as good as it gets.

So often great plays by great playwrights get mired by a director’s compulsion to change, re-think or re-invent what is already a perfectly round wheel. Perhaps no playwright in the pantheon of American greats has been more victimized by this tendency than Tennessee Williams. Williams’ plays, famously famous for all the things they are rightly famous for, frequently have their beauty and their power and their frailty and their humanity diluted by productions that don’t adhere to the idea that if a play is great and you have a talented creative team behind it, the best thing to do is to get out of the way.

I am happy (no, thrilled actually) to report that Big Sky Theater Company’s current production of Summer and Smoke, does just that. Director Tlaloc Rivas and cohorts have taken an incredibly engaging minimalistic approach to their current production – running, sadly only through August 31 so go when you are done reading this – literally putting forth the play, the whole play, and nothing but the play. The stage is essentially bare, there is no set save for chairs for the well-costumed actors and a few furniture pieces, there are almost no props, lighting and sound cues have been whittled down to the bare minimum. The playing space on stage looks and feels physically uncluttered, and that allows for the playing space in your heart and in your head to be likewise, and thus open to receive whatever comes at you.

And what comes at you is a moving story told without the distractions that need not be there when you have a play this rich and a cast this good. Rivas keeps the show going at a good pace, allowing moments and emotions to be fully realized, but never over indulged. The cast is pitch-perfect in every aspect – individual call-outs are unnecessary as they are a true ensemble and operate as such, with nary a weak link to be found. I can’t imagine a finer showcase for this play or for these actors.

This is no small feat. Having seen a number of productions of a number of Tennessee Williams plays, from the well-known greats, to the lesser-known not-so-greats, this production of Summer and Smoke is an absolute standout. It succeeds mostly because it adheres to the idea that I think great theatre is predicated on: you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, movable set pieces and expensive pyrotechnics when you have real human beings experiencing real human emotions on stage. Sometimes the brush of face or the turn of a phrase or the realization of a universal truth (“Forget about pride whenever it stands between you and what you must have”) has more impact than a thousand volts of electricity.

(Summer and Smoke plays at the Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street at 9th Ave. Remaining show times are Friday, August 29th at 8pm, Saturday, August 30th at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday, August 31st at 2pm. Tickets are $18...visit ticketcentral.com or call 212.279.4200.

Fringe Encore Series

The Fringe Festival is over, but the best-selling, most well-received shows get an extended run through the FringeNYC Encore series. Each Encore show gets 4 performances; they begin on August 30th at 2 venues, The Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow at Christopher St.) and Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam between 6th and Varick). For Encore Series schedules visit
fringenyc-encoreseries.com.

This year's Encore shows are:
The Complete Performer
Blanche Survives Katrina
Monsters in the Woods
Perez Hilton Saves the Universe
johnpaulgeorgeringo
The Fabulous Kane Sisters
Boy in the Basement
Krapp39
See How Beautiful I Am
That Dorothy Parker
The Redheaded Man
There will come soft rains

The Refugee Girls Revue: A Musical Parody (Theatre 80)

BOTTOM LINE: wacky, political, confused
If you’re a fan of sketch comedy you’ll enjoy some bright comedic moments, but the piece is still in need of polishing.

The Refugee Girls Review is a parody (a musical parody at that) of the mega-industry that has become “The American Girls”. For those of you not born post Y2K or without kiddies at home, “The American Girls” are a series of novels turned merchandising empire dramatizing the stories of young women living at different points in US history. There’s (and these are the real “American Girls”) Josephina from Mexico struggling in the wake of her mother’s death, Kaya, an American Indian girl who must become a leader for her people, and Kirsten whose family travels from Sweden to settle on a Minnesota farm. Now several American Girls stores across the U.S. sell, Sell, SELL their products to the tween set who can come have a tea party, watch a dramatic performance about their favorite dolls and shop to their little consumerists hearts' content.

The Refugee Girls Review at the New York International Fringe Festival, works under the premise that there is a new line of “Refugee Girls” on the market - whose stories of trials and hardship and struggle are performed by the Refugee Girls Club, a plugged-in set of tween glitterati, whose mega fan-dom compels them to act out their dolls’ sad stories. The premise is fun and the characters inventive. There’s Kyoto Canary, an Inuit girl whose igloo home has melted due to global warming and must relocate her family to cooler climates (in this case, Chicago), there’s Guadalupe Flores, an undocumented laborer in West Texas, whose life is saved by joining the army, or Payne Gone, a young Indonesian girl who floats to America on a Tsunami.

There are some real inspired comic moments here like from Rita and Katrina, two displaced girls from New Orleans, who proclaim “Rita, I told you, Santa died in New Orleans”. Or the young Refugee doll, Faluja, from Iraq, who goes to find “My uncle Osama… I mean Obama”. But in the end some of the Refugee Girl stories work better than others, and the piece as a whole seems to forget who it set out to skewer. Or maybe it’s just that it can’t seem to make up its mind who it’s making fun of. Are we lauding the yuppie consumerist culture that likes to package up its PC’ness nice and tidy and sell it to the masses, or, as also seems to be the case here, are we poking fun at the refugees themselves?

Somehow, though it sounded like comic gold on paper -- a skewering of the actual refugee’s stories, and the inherent stereotyping involved -- seemed to fly less as comic fodder. And this cast of Second City Alums, though they danced and performed their little hearts out, didn’t all have the comic chops to rise to the occasion. That said, there were some truly inspired performances, like the wacky Ruth Gamble who steals every scene she’s in, or Dave Hill who plays Token Male (the sole guy in the show) who takes on all the male role in the Refugee’s stories, yet manages with incredible precision, to milk every laugh out of his many small cameos. Lauren Maul, who plays the keyboard in her wheelchair for the Refugee girl songs (and has a Refuge doll in a wheelchair to accompany her), has a baby-voiced sincerity that skillfully and unexpectedly throws down some major comic punches.

The cast is having fun, and no doubt working hard to play against a somewhat muddled script, but alas, though the show attempts a longer format, it can’t seem to escape it’s shorter sketch comedy roots. A 10 minute short, YES, but an hour long show….

The Refugee Girls Revue plays at Theatre 80, 80 St. Marks Place. Show times: Saturday, August 23rd at 5pm. Visit refugeegirlsrevuecom or fringenyc.org for more info.

The Sound of One Hanna Clapping (The Jazz Gallery)

BOTTOM LINE: one-woman show, charming and hysterical
It might be because I found The Sound of One Hanna Clapping super relatable, but I really enjoyed Hanna LoPatin's one-woman saga of being a mid-twenties, single Chicagoan who yearns for a successful career in theatre with a dreamboat husband waiting at home.

First of all, the pre-show music to One Hanna Clapping was a fabulous taste of what was to come. As I sat there looking at the cabaret-ish stage (complete with piano and coat rack holding a bowler hat) I listened to the most obviously girl-power musical theatre anthems ever..."Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent, "And I'm Telling You" from Dreamgirls, and finally "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. My expectations were high for the musical theatre love letter I was about to experience. Plus, I give credit for self-referential, inside jokey pre-show music.

Hanna LoPatin is an improv comedian who wrote this one-woman show detailing her life and where she hopes to go. The premise isn't innovative, but it's real. LoPatin talks out to the audience and lets us in as she tells her story. Through her comedic abilities (and the comical direction by SNL veteran Ana Gasteyer), One Hanna Clapping is an incredibly entertaining ride. LoPatin splices her monologues and stories with original songs (she also plays guitar). The content ranges from being Jewish but not too Jewish, to forays into the Chicago theatre scene and the selling out she's encountered, to her desire for a career in musical theatre, to her undying love for Michael Showalter. The all-encompasing theme is that one can find happiness through the journey, not just when dreams are realized.

LoPatin is a talented comedian with a great voice...she's certainly deserving of a successful career in the theatre (if not as a performer than at least as a writer). And you should see her show because it's full of heart and it's super funny.

The Sound of One Hanna Clapping plays at the Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street south of Spring St. Show times: Friday, August 22nd at 8:30pm; Saturday, August 23rd at 1:30pm. For more info and tickets visit hannalo.com or fringenyc.org.

Green Eyes (Theatre 80)

BOTTOM LINE: modern dance, love story, talented people

Green Eyes is a love story told in song by one couple, while told in dance by another couple. A band backs the story and the performance is entirely musical. It's not perfect yet, but it's a wonderful attempt at a unique production.

Green Eyes tells the story of a young couple in love; they meet, they flirt, they fall head over heels, they fight, they break-up (?) and they realize that love is hard. And that's really the extent of the premise. First, the downfall (and then I'll tell you all the reasons I liked the production)...there isn't really a story, and we never get to meet the characters. The man and woman in the relationship are as ambiguous as you can get and the ins and outs of their situation are as completely unclear. As a result, there isn't a story to grab onto and the outcome of their nondescript struggle is of no consequence to the audience. I'm hoping Green Eyes gets another chance at a production, and I'm sure with some fine-tuning and editing, a beautiful narrative can develop in this piece.

And here's why Green Eyes is awesome...it's a wonderful and captivating way to create art. All of the artists involved are ridiculously good, it's a joy to watch them all. First off, hearing the five-piece band rock out to well-crafted folk-pop music (by the gifted Brian Mazzaferri) is like watching a fresh, new indie band in a coffee house...there is great energy in these songs. The man and woman who dance the piece are strong and graceful. They partner almost consistently in their choreography and they dance beautifully together. The modern choreography is appropriate for the path of their relationship and it's super cool to see the couple's story unfold in this way. The man and woman who sing the piece have intensely good voices. They both have successful careers already (Nick Blaemire wrote Glory Days and performed in the new musical Cry-Baby, and Celina Carvajal was on MTV's Legally Blonde reality show). FringeNYC is lucky to have performers with these credentials and this level of talent.

The artistic expression that is communicated in Green Eyes is a captivating thing. The combination of dance and singing from two different couples keeps the interest of the audience and gives a well-rounded approach to the production. I really enjoyed all of the performances and I hope this show gets a life after Fringe.

Green Eyes plays at Theatre 80, 80 St. Marks Place. Show times: Thursday, August 21st at 7:30; Saturday, August 23rd at 7pm. Visit greeneyesthemusical.com or fringenyc.org for more info and tickets.

There Will Come Soft Rains

BOTTOM LINE: inventive, daring, experimental

If you're into seeing incredibly cool stuff on stage, you should probably check this show out. There Will Come Soft Rains is a wildly inventive staging of three sci-fi tales "How the World Was Saved," "On the Nature of Time," and "There Will Come Soft Rains."

Undoubtedly, the draw of this "science fiction symphony" is, ironically, its visual brilliance. The company employs puppets, an extraordinary use of projected image, and three white panels on a bare stage to create the distinct worlds of each story, and it's a pleasure to watch the immense amount of creativity and talent that this show highlights.

While Soft Rains is brilliantly conceived and well directed (by Jon Levin, who also adapted each story for the stage), my one comment is this - that the creativity of the staging may sometimes overshadow the stories themselves. While each story is, in itself, surprising and poignant, the sheer coolness of seeing how it's brought to life, sometimes makes you forget what's actually being said. But if you're a person who loves daring and ingenuity on stage, you'll do well with Soft Rains.

There Will Come Soft Rains plays at the New School for Drama theatre. Show times: Thursday, August 21st at 5:15pm. Saturday, August 23rd at 7:30pm. For more info visit
softrains-theplay.com or fringenyc.org.

Creena Defoouie (The Studio at Cherry Lane)

BOTTOM LINE: silly, weird, British
British humor prevails in this 2-person play with music. It waivers between brilliant and random-as-hell, but it's overall a great hour of live entertainment.

Straight from England, the Ruby Bloomsbury Theatre presents what they call "Ab Fab meets Addams Family by way of Rocky Horror." I'll agree with the Ab Fab part...it's consistent silly, dry banter between Creena Defoouie (Charlotte Barton-Hoare who also wrote the play) and Superintendent Hardon/Kenny Buckwald (James Hoare). I'll also agree that it's Rocky Horror-esque...there is a playful and sex-driven undertone (which becomes more apparent in certain scenes, i.e. the green dildo swordfight). I'm less sure of the Addams Family reference, but I'll let it slide.

Creena Defoouie is a counselor at a mental hospital and she finds herself intertwined in a murder mystery investigated by Superintendant Hardon. It's hard to explain much more than that but suffice to say, through comedy, musical numbers (Hoare on acoustic guitar) and a silly back-and-forth between Creena and the others, Creena Defoouie is a mighty entertaining show.

To quote the most appropriate comment I've read regarding this performance, "if crazy were crack, Creena would be the best buzz available" (Hamilton Spectator). Agreed. This play (albiet bizarre) works incredibly well, in part because the script is cohesive and the plot moves, and also because the performances are fantastic. Both actors have a knack for comedic timing and they interact brilliantly with one another in the space. It's first-rate funny randomness with a darker, snarkier tone...and it's pretty great. Check it out while you still can!
Creena Defoouie plays at the Studio at Cherry Lane, 38 Commerce St. between Bedford and Barrow. Show times: Wednesday, August 20th at 9:30pm; Saturday, August 23rd at 3pm. For more info and tickets visit creena-defoouie.co.uk or fringenyc.org.

See How Beautiful I Am: The Return of Jackie Susann (The SoHo Playhouse)

BOTTOM LINE: See How Beautiful I Am's Fringe run is over, but it still deserves a shout-out.

The primary reason to see See How Beautiful I Am: The Return of Jackie Susann is for the return of Jackie Susann - in the form of Debora Weston. Weston so successfully inhabits the character of Susann that I never for one second thought that I wasn’t actually watching the woman who wrote The Valley of the Dolls, or VD as Susann lovingly refers to it, tell me the story of her life. I knew nothing of this woman walking into the SoHo Playhouse, but was nonetheless rapt for the entire hour or so that Weston was onstage. I think that is a testament to the real person, the person pretending to be the real person and everyone else involved (writer Paul Minx, director Paul Dubois) in this very simple, classy, and intimate one-woman show.

Weston effectively navigates her way through Susann’s life hitting what I assume to be all the major events playing both the lead and supporting characters. The script beautifully illuminates Susann’s humor and strength and vulnerability and sass and puts them all on equal display constructing not a character or caricature, but a real human being. The keep-it-simple motto with respect to set, lights and sound all work to great advantage keeping the focus right where it should be - on Susann and her story. Most importantly, however, the play communicates a real sense of affection and respect for its subject and that makes it a pleasure to watch. And don't think for one second I didn’t go home and Youtube the afternoon away watching clips of the real Jackie Susann. But, truth be told, I liked the one onstage at the SoHo Playhouse better.

See How Beautiful I Am comes from London's Off The Cuff Theatre Company. For more info visit otctheatre.co.uk

O! Balletto (Theatre 80)

BOTTOM LINE: beautiful, regal, humorous
If you are a lover of ballet, you will find this piece particularly delightful.

O! Balletto begins slow but then seduces you into its entrancing world. This piece is unusually well-acted for dancers! I found the dancers’ acting to be surprisingly superb. Also, the fully extended movements in all of the dancers are consistent and beautiful, there are some particularly sexy moments that I found absolutely breathtaking.

Tobias Wildman Burns is perfectly cast as commanding narrator, Balleto Master Signor Fabritio Caruso. Burns glides in between the dancers with ease and when he is tempted to break the rules he has previously declared; it is quite amusing. John Knowles’ video art design is intriguing and mysterious. I must admit I enjoyed the piece more when it moved away from traditional music and became more contemporary so I congratulate Neil Alexander for his wonderful musical additions. Lane Gifford’s choreography is beautiful, creative, and humorous. She is a particularly gifted director. I also appreciated the diversity in her cast. Also, there is some nudity so if that helps get you there, I thought I should mention it.

O! Balleto plays at Theatre 80, 80 St. Marks Place. Remaining show times: Thursday, August 21 at 9:30pm. Visit lanecoarts.com or fringenyc.org for more info and to purchase tickets.

Be Brave, Anna! (The Players Theatre)

BOTTOM LINE: Funny isn’t mean, and mean definitely isn’t funny.

I am going to be completely upfront about my dislike of this play. I am not sure why I had such a strong reaction to it, but I did, and I feel compelled to air my grievances. Loudly. For the record, I am not suggesting that this play is bad. Just that it pissed me off.

First, the positive aspects: The dialogue is sharp and witty, the cast is more than capable and seems to be having a good time, and that is always fun to watch. The show moves along at a good clip keeping the mood light. The costumes and minimal set are all appropriate for the occasion. But...

Be Brave, Anna!, by virtue of its title, postures itself to be a play that is going to take a sympathetic, albeit comedic, look at the life and tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith – a woman whose name, likeness and story are both literally and figuratively the stuff of which E! True Hollywood Stories are made. I challenge you to find anyone over the age of seven who doesn’t know the major plot points of her sad, short life.

Why, then, is this play necessary? I ask this not rhetorically, but with a real desire to understand what the impetus for this play really was. If it were an attempt to illuminate a side of Anna Nicole not yet served up for public consumption by the handlers who were all too eager to make money at her expense, then, I might find it interesting. But to serve up the same old shtick – to simply paint Anna Nicole as a bumbling dumb country bumpkin and to suggest that she is absolutely nothing more than the image the media constructed for us to lust over and laugh at, is, to me at least, not funny. Obviously something about this woman touched a chord with the celebrity-crazed-reality-show-addicted American public (and, curiously, with me – who knew?), or we wouldn't be writing plays about her, but to perpetuate the humiliation she endured in her life after her death is just mean. I don’t think the creators of this show intended to be mean, but this play felt mean to me. Surely there are many things about Anna Nicole Smith that we didn’t know – a love of books, perhaps, or an allergy to flowers, a fear of flying or a freakish aptitude for math. Who knows? But surely there had to be more to her than what we saw. Why not write a play about that?

If only the creators of Be Brave, Anna! had used their collective and considerable talents and taken a more sympathetic approach to their subject, and made an attempt to see what was really going in the head underneath the bleach blonde hair and in the heart behind the big boobs. My guess is that is where the untold story and the real drama of Anna Nicole Smith really exists. And it is undoubtedly more compelling than any E! True Hollywood Story.

Be Brave, Anna! plays at the Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street just south of West 3rd St. Show times: Thursday, August 21st at 9:45pm; Friday, August 22 at 3pm; Saturday, August 23rd at 3:30pm. Visit bebraveanna.com or fringenyc.com for more info and to purchase tickets.