REVIEWS ...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Laughs plentiful almost to the end
By Christine Dolan
With few exceptions (Noises Off, for example), comedies aren't quite as funny the second time around. You know the story, the setups, the punch lines. That element of hilarious surprise is missing.
If you're in search of some summer laughs, Paul Rudnick's The New Century at GableStage will supply them. Lots of them. The play, which premiered in its current form at Lincoln Center in 2008, consists of four short pieces: two pure monologues, one near-monologue and a final play featuring all the characters.
And if you're thinking this sounds a bit like Rudnick's version of City Theatre's Summer Shorts festival, you're not far off. The first two pieces in The New Century were done as stand-alone shorts: Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach in 2003, Pride and Joy in 2005. Both featured the festival's marquee talent, Stephen Trovillion, at his droll best -- two perfect pairings of actor and material.
If you're new to everything in The New Century, of course, that bit of history won't matter. And it's not meant to disparage the considerable talent that Patti Gardner and John Felix bring to those roles at GableStage, just to point out that the two strongest pieces in The New Century have been done here, quite artfully, before.
Gardner kicks things off as Helene Nadler, a proud Jewish mother from Long Island who may be the most accepting mom in history. Just ask her. Pacing the stage in a chic suit and tasteful pumps, she shares the coming-out history of her three grown children -- a lesbian, a transgendered son who becomes a lesbian, and a submissive leather fetishist son who likes less-than-sanitary playthings. Oy.
Felix is the gleefully flamboyant Mr. Charles, a middle-of-the-night cable access host with a little show he calls Too Gay. He claims to have been kicked out of New York for being unable to resist taking ''nelly breaks,'' in which he dials up stereotypical behavior to stratospheric levels (and appears to be on the verge of yodeling), but he has found happiness in his late-night oasis and the presence of his go-go boy ''ward'' Shane (Daniel Landon). The showoff bit in Mr. Charles is the TV host's 60-second rendition of the history of gay theater in America -- topped off by gratuitous full-frontal male nudity courtesy of Shane.
In the third piece, Sally Bondi plays Barbara Ellen Diggs, a crafts-crazy mom from Decatur, Ill. As she cheerily babbles about the tuxedo she made for her toaster and the outfits she designed for her cat, Barbara Ellen divulges a sadder story: the death of her son Hank from AIDS. Bondi hits all the right notes here, finding the empathetic dignity within Barbara Ellen and making her thoroughly endearing.
And then there's the last, character-combining coda. Helene, Mr. Charles, Shane, Barbara Ellen and Joann Milderry (Jehanne Seralles), a new mom who happily allowed Mr. Charles to zap her baby boy and transform him into a gay tyke dubbed ''Mr. Max,'' all convene in the maternity ward of a New York hospital. For no reason, really, except that they're each seeking a kind of comfort from viewing rows of innocent new life. And Rudnick needed an ending.
The playwright tries to deepen the last piece, fleetingly, by mixing in a touch of 9/11 material. Then we're treated to Shane's epiphany (and bonding moment with Helene) about the healing power of retail therapy. And finally, we get Shane's brand-new dead-of-night cable show, which features the host and other characters dancing to a disco beat.
Director Joseph Adler keeps the cast careening from one laugh to the next until that final bit, which is supposed to be bad and lame. But not that bad.
Christine Dolen is The Miami Herald's theater critic.
Wednesday, june 24, 2009
Gablestage Rocks With Laughter As Rudnick's "The New Century" Reigns
By Ron Levitt, Florida Media News
Late night television hosts-from whom we expect rat-a-tat humor - could get a big ratings boost if it were to take on some of the subjects which have been let loose in Coral Gables these days. Uncontained laughter just spills out of the GableStage at the Biltmore. It's all because Paul Rudnick, one of the funniest playwrights in America, has his side-splitting work on stage - The New Century - in which one-liners are the order of the day.
But, behind this humor, there are a string of politically incorrect statements as Rudnick bravely mixes in gay rights, same sex marriage, Aids, transgendered individuals, terrorism, bondage... you name it!!! One of the actors said it was the gayest play he ever came across. And that certainly rings true as well. Sprinkle in some rear and frontal nudity, some outlandish characters, a bunch of A-one performances and you cannot help but snicker and laugh loudly. And, it's all done in good taste!
So, briefly, no matter if you just want to laugh or to discover some philosophical statements on equality and acceptance, The New Century has something to consider
Joe Adler once again proves why he constantly wins awards for direction and for selecting plays which will entertain. If portions of The New Century may seem familiar here in South Florida, it's because segments of the script had been done as stand-alone short plays in City Theatre's Summer Shorts a few years ago. It's essentially three monologues about parents and their gay offspring followed by a sketch of these characters brought together in a maternity ward of a City Hospital. However, the four laugh-wringing playlets which make up The New Century intertwine so lovingly that the material is as fresh as home-grown vegetables.
Just consider these scenes:
Pride and Joy: It's a stream of one-liners as a Long Island Jewish mother (a mind-juggling, ferociously funny performance by Carbonell-winner Patti Gardner) is addressing the Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, the Transgendered, the Questioning, the Curious, the Creatively Concerned & Others. Who better a speaker than this mom whose three children are "different" - a lesbian, a transgendered individual, and a bondage prone son? She says to her husband, "Morris, I gave birth to three perfect children - what did you do to them." She tells her transgendered child that "For what we spent on hormones, I could have had a new kitchen." And, that's just a mild sample of this character's speech to reassure other parents.
Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach: This is a crackerjack performance by the brilliantly funny John Felix as the effeminate host of a cable-access TV show called Too Gay, It seems Mr, Charles was kicked out of New York and landed in Palm Beach, where he dispenses advice with the help of his go-go boy assistant Shane ( David Landon), who prances around in his birthday suit. But, it is Felix's 60 second soliloquy on the history of gay theatre that has the audience snickering. Mr. C is asked "What causes homosexuality?" His reply: "I do." His receptionist Joann (a charming newcomer, Jehane Serrales) has a baby boy that Mr. C passes a spell over, hoping that the youngster will grow up to be just as colorful as he is.
Crafty: Here we find a mid-Western mother (an irresistibly ingratiating and touching Sally Bondi) who treats the depression of losing a son to Aids by crocheting an evening gown for her cat and speaking before the Junior Chamber of Commerce on serious questions which seem more like a shopping spree than a 9/11 World Trade Center attack. She calls them "muslin terrorists."
These characters eventually meet in the New York maternity ward, giving us a few final laughs at their expense and a chance to consider the power of love.
Rudnick, a screenwriter/playwright/songwriter, novelist and producer, is known for several gay themed plays - Jeffrey (a breakthrough comedy about love in the world of Aids) and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (a rewriting of Genesis about Adam and Steve). These were comedies - but none as wildly humorous or will tickle your funny bone as The New Century (the name refers to a shopping site across from the World Trade Center).
The colorful but simple set by Tim Connelly, the sound and music by Matt Corey, lighting by Jeff Quinn, and the creative costuming by Ellis Tillman all add up to the usual professional standards and Carbonell award dominance which have made GableStage such a powerful venue in South Florida. This show may be a far cry from GableStage customary dramatic shows, but its sugary, laugh-provoking stimulus proves to be an unexpected delicacy.
