Home » Posts tagged 'books' (Page 4)
Tag Archives: books
High Praise from Jim Catapano for SKYSCRAPER
The Skyscraper Rises Again
The 1960s Broadway Musical Is Gloriously Revived for the First Time.
The determined and spirited Georgina Allerton has two goals—to make her antique shop a success, and to save her Rutherford B. Hayes-era Manhattan brownstone from getting bulldozed in favor of the titular modern marvel. But she’s also a hopeless romantic, and her forays into flights of fancy threaten to impede her success in the real world, in a time when women had to fight to be seen and heard.
Skyscraper is the creation of legends James Van Heusen (music), Sammy Cahn (lyrics), and Peter Stone (book), based on the play Dream Girl by Elmer Rice. Today it is reborn, in its first-ever revival, as a vibrant production that blows welcome fresh air and a dose of cheer into uncertain modern times.
In the role originated by Julie Harris in 1965, Rachel Lauren James shines as Georgina, anchoring the show with a magnetic central performance. The shop owner fights/flirts with contractor Tim Bushman (Travis Murad Leland), who is competing with his brother Bert (Jeff Raab) to see which of the two can persuade Georgina to sell her property to make way for their towering behemoth (and its fittingly garish, pimply design). Tim, who has been spying on Georgina with a telescope (making him “a peeping Tim” as it is noted), takes a genuine liking to her, even as he conspires to cajole her for the sake of business.
Georgina also must battle the common, dismissive perception of her, which is either as “that stupid woman next door” or “the girl with the sensational legs and thighs.” Complicating things further is Georgina’s own vivid imagination, which propels her at inopportune moments to disappear into a dreamworld where she is romanced by her assistant Roger (Brian C. Veith.) “Everyone daydreams, it’s part of the human condition!” protests Georgina, oblivious to how much it is interfering with her life
(“Occasional Flights of Fancy”). The dream sequences are delightful as Georgina conjures up moments and dialogue from Gone with The Wind, and forays into Parisian-style passion.
Katryna Marttala excels as Stanley, tough-talking head of the construction crew, who leads them in singing “Local Four Oh Three.” Adding comic flair are Sydney Michele Castiglione as Georgina’s pestering but well-meaning mother, Shea Pender as her “can’t-be-bothered” father, and Abby Scalici as her “still-single” sister Charlotte.
As crafted by the masters, the songs are expectedly joyful and memorable, and the dance sequences beautifully crafted by director and choreographer Avital Asuleen, and guided by ensemble member Katherine Winter as Dance Captain. (Among the stunning sequences is a winning tap dance number.) “Haute Couture” is a particularly fun set piece, with the guys and gals singing the praises of 60s fashion and flair in their thick NYC accents.
The song and dance sequences, combined with the witty book, perfectly recreate the playful fun of early 60s Broadway while being an overall love letter to the theater and to New York City. The costumes by Michael O’ Herron are suitably bright, from the orange hats of the building construction workers, to the red, pink and green coats, shirts, and dresses of the ensemble at large. The inventive set design by Hannah Tarr beautifully brings it all together.
This newly built Skyscraper is a triumph for the actors and creative team, and it makes for the perfect, refreshing theatrical escape of the season.
Skyscraper is presented at Urban Stages through November 17, 2024.
Jim Catapano explores the 21st Century Dating Scene with his review of “He’s Different”
Love Will Find You
He’s Different Takes a Witty and Insightful Look at Contemporary Dating
“It was just a party…a normal Halloween party, smack in the middle of Bushwick, when everything changed.”
So proclaims Liv, a contemporary dancer, who toasts the holiday with her roommate Naomi as the intriguing tale of He’s Different unfolds.
The two friends watch the costumed revelers, scoping for someone worth flirting with like they’re picking lobsters from a tank. (Their choices this evening include Scooby-Doo and Jeffrey Dahmer.)
“I haven’t had sex in six months!” laments a frustrated Naomi. She is overheard and approached by Hugh, resplendent in a boat captain’s hat, silk red robe, and conspicuously zero pants—the walking example of everything the women don’t want.
Liv is also single and adrift, noting that “most men are trash.” She’s holding out for someone suitably enlightened, feminist—and dare we say, woke. “All these guys are cute, but most of them probably don’t know the difference between Greta Thunberg and Greta Gerwig,” she observes. She points out a new arrival to the party, Travis, as a likely example. “How do I know that he wouldn’t skip our wedding for a football game?”
But then she spies a “Trans Lives Matter” sticker on his water bottle, and it piques her interest. “I got this from a cute little store in Brooklyn, owned by a trans activist,” Travis explains. “They make cute little merch like this to fund gender reassignment surgery for homeless teens.” The cynical Liv wonders if this is just the latest pickup line, but Travis keeps passing her tests, impressing in every way imaginable (Exhibits A-C: He works at a Senior Center, loves the aforementioned Greta Gerwig, and finishes Lynn’s sentences).
Liv is all-in: she grows not only intrigued, but smitten in a way she never thought possible, as her weary skepticism morphs into teenager-like infatuation. “What if he doesn’t text me back?” she whines, followed by a squealed, triumphant “HE TEXTED ME!” when he actually does, under the wary gaze of Naomi. And so the mystery begins—is this guy the real thing or the ultimate poser? Is this “smart and sweet” persona a disguise, no more real than the other costumes at the party? The question sets off a gripping journey, with a very amusing twist, and in the end, a poignant message about where real love can be found.
He’s Different is an insightful treatise on relationships in the here and now—taking a microscope to our desires, insecurities, turn-ons and offs, green flags and dealbreakers. It does so with a sharp, knowing wit that will keep you laughing and nodding in recognition. The sight of the previously grounded and Bechdel-test passing Liv melting into limerent obsession tells a truth about the malleability of the human psyche that is undeniable, and well worth exploring. The actors bring the story to life deftly, creating recognizable archetypes with warmth and humor. It all comes together to make He’s Different an enjoyable and satisfying experience.
He’s Different is written by Arianna Wellmoney. It was showcased at the Chain Theatre in the summer of 2024, as directed by Bradly Valenzuela, with Wellmoney as Liv, Kiamba Doyling as Travis, Megan Catalina as Naomi, and James Nash as Hugh.
Jim Catapano, ZORA, and The Harlem Renaissance
The Life of a Literary Legend
Actor Antonia Badón and Director Greg Freelon join forces to bring us the triumphant Zora!, a new staging of Laurence Holder’s play, realized as a one-woman show. It’s a love letter to not only the brilliant author, folklorist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, but to a pivotal, landmark time in history.
Badón is astonishing as Hurston, “A Genius of the South” as novelist Alice Walker’s epitaph proclaimed. She embodies the author at various stages of her life, growing from a young hopeful to an accomplished elder with stunning realism, changing body language and the pitch of her voice dramatically to fit the time period. Hurston adventures from her home of Eatonville Florida, the first incorporated all-black town in America, winning a scholarship to Barnard college and launching herself into becoming a prominent force in the Harlem Renaissance. The most popular of her novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is published in 1937, and her essays, short stories and plays made her an essential voice in the black community of the time and well beyond.
In between (and often during) Badón’s monologues, a film projection of scenes from the early 20th century accompanies Zora’s story. Vivid images of New York City, and of the great icons of the era (such as Langston Hughes, James Van Der Zee, and Duke Ellington) flash by as we are treated to a soundtrack of the jazz classics of the age. The film interludes, while allowing us to delight in wistful time travel to another era, also allow Badón to change into one of her many fabulous outfits.
Armed with her powerful pen (and typewriter), Hurston’s voice holds tremendous power, brutal honesty, and necessary skepticism and criticism of the norms of the era. “I will jump up to support this democracy as soon as all those Jim Crow laws are gone,” she proclaims. “…But I am not selling out for no cheap, itchy suits!”
The most poignant sequence depicts Hurston as weary and ill in the late 1940s. She has written several acclaimed novels but with little money to show for it; she is now without a publisher but determined to raise her voice up and write again. After looking frail and spent she suddenly rises from her chair, stands up tall, and returns to her typewriter, stoic and strong once more, in a foreshadowing of her enduring legacy.
“Don’t worry about me,” she smiles.” Go down to your neighborhood bookstore. I’ll be there.”
Zora! is at the Sargent Theatre at the American Theater of Actors through Oct. 20, 2024.
Arts Independent 