PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, Sept. 12-18: Green Springs to Life
By Robert Simonson
18 Sep 2009
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John Gallagher, Jr. and Tony Vincent inAmerican Idiot
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| photo by mellopix.com | The latest savior of the American rock musical form, American Idiot, opened this week.
It premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California, the scene of the most recent work hailed as a great rock musical by critics, Passing Strange; and Idiot contains a couple players critical to the success of the game-changing rock musical before that, Spring Awakening: director Michael Mayer and star John Gallagher, Jr.. Looks like rock musicians (Duncan Sheik, Stew, Billie Armstrong are getting pretty good at writing for the theatre.)
American Idiot is, or course, based on the iconic rock album of the same name by Green Day. The concept album conveniently already had a plot of sorts and a cast of characters: Johnny (also known Jesus of Suburbia), Extraordinary Girl, Whatsername and St. Jimmy. Thus, the record was made for storytelling.
Berkeley Rep presents the show in association with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman, and there is no doubt in anyone's minds that they hope to bring the thing to Broadway. The reviews that greeted the Sept. 16 opening should help. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Never has [Berkeley Rep's] Roda [Theatre] appeared more expansive yet bursting with images and action. American Idiot, adapted by Green Day frontman and lyricist Billie Joe Armstrong and director Michael Mayer from the band's multi-platinum 2004 album, doesn't deliver much in the way of character or story. But the rock opera that opened Wednesday, in a world premiere with Broadway aspirations written all over it, packs plenty of excitement and entertainment into a remarkably theatrical rock concert." The San Jose Mercury News said, "On the heels of Passing Strange, the last alternative-rock musical Berkeley Rep sent to Broadway, this production marks the troupe's emergence as a major player in the development of hip new musicals that harness the effervescence of pop culture."
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Looking for something new to see on Broadway? Well, after this week, you have no excuses. With Labor Day behind us, the new shows began to unleash previews en masse. Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts — the writer's first play produced since August: Osage County — began previews Sept. 16. The Royal Family, George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's play about an American theatrical clan patterned after the Barrymores and the Drews, started at Manhattan Theatre Club Sept. 15. Donmar Warehouse's production of Hamlet — directed by Michael Grandage and starring Jude Law as the Prince of Denmark — came to life Sept. 12. Roundabout Theatre Company officially opened the doors of its third active Broadway home, Henry Miller's Theatre, Sept. 10, with the first preview of the first Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie. And, Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig co-star in the two-character Keith Huff play A Steady Rain, which began previews Sept. 10 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
More to come, folks. More to come.
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Jeremy Piven must lie in bed at night and wonder "Will this Speed-the-Plow-sushi thing ever go away?"
Well, my tanned Hollywood friend, I'm afraid the answer to that is "no" for now. The bruhaha that Piven stirred up when he bolted from his starring role in last season's Mamet revival continues to make headlines. This week The Public Theater, which houses the intimate nightspot Joe's Pub, was issued a "cease and desist" letter for the nightclub's production of The Piven Monologues, according to the New York Post.
The evening exploring the controversy surrounding Jeremy Piven's surprise departure from the recent Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow made its debut at Joe's Pub Sept. 14 and is currently scheduled for an encore presentation Oct. 2 at 11:30 PM. The Piven Monologues was created by Alena Smith (Public Emerging Writers Group 2009) with Jordan Seavey (EWG '09) and Anna O'Donoghue.
"When Jeremy Piven made his abrupt exit from the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow due to the alleged illness of mercury poisoning," press notes state, "Mr. Mamet may have been the first to comment ["My understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer"] – but he was by no means the last. In this new age of instant global communication, no matter how minor the story or how wacky the rumor, everyone gets to have their say."
A lawyer for Piven, Marty Singer, told the Post, "We didn't say you cannot do the play, we said you can't make defamatory statements about our client."
I guess the Public doesn't think its play is defamatory because the Oct. 2 presentation of The Piven Monologues is scheduled to go on as planned, according to a Public spokesperson.
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The New York theatre can be full of surprises.
Just as we were ready to wave goodbye to Avenue Q, which ended its long run on Broadway on Sept. 13, the producers announced that the show will resume performances Off-Broadway on Oct. 9. (I've interviewed all three of the creators in the past few weeks; guys—you might have said something.)
Tickets for this well-kept secret are already on sale. Casting will be announced. The musical about twentysomethings struggling with their place in the world (a world populated by humans and puppets) will play the 499-seat venue in the New World Stages complex, at 50th and Eighth Avenue.
A hit Broadway show shutting down and reopening Off-Broadway is extremely rare. The show began its life Off-Broadway, at the Vineyard Theatre, and moved to Broadway's John Golden Theatre in 2003 to win the Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book Tony Awards.
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The Apple Tree Theatre in suburban Chicago closed its doors after 26 years, according to its website, which states, "Apple Tree Theatre and the Eileen Boevers Performing Arts Workshop have ceased operations."
Founder Boevers died earlier this year. She had retired in 2008. The website statement continues, "The Board of Directors wishes to thank all the artists, teachers, students, staff, patrons and community that supported operations for the Theatre's 26 years and the Workshop's nearly 40 years."
Apple Tree was committed to contemporary plays and musicals, often re-imagining large musicals in small spaces. It was founded in 1983, just as the Chicago theatre scene was beginning to attract national attention as a hothouse of creative innovation. It won 28 Jeff Awards and earned 109 nominations. The company began in the same 88-seat church venue where Steppenwolf Theatre Company had taken root. Apple Tree has performed mainstage productions at three homes since 1983.
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The Barry Humphries Brinks truck is backing up to Broadway again, ready for another load of cash.
Humphries' alter ego is, of course, international gigastar Dame Edna, who routinely attracts sell-out crowds when she graces Broadway. The purple-haired diva with the rapier tongue will return to Broadway later this season in It's All About Me, which is billed as "a glorious celebration of everything Edna." Performances will begin in March 2010 at a Shubert theatre to be announced. Jerry Zaks will direct.
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Is Jujamcyn Theaters now the most politically connected theatre organization on Broadway?
We all know that former Jujamcyn president Rocco Landesman is the new head of the National Endowment of the Arts. Now news comes that producer Margo Lion, who shares offices above the St. James with Jujamcyn, has been appointed to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. It was Lion, an early Obama supporter, who put forth Landesman's names as a possible new NEA chief.
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