Theater Reviews: “Kowalski” Cleverly Inserts Itself Into the Making of “A Streetcar of Desire”; The All-Asian, All-Female “Cymbeline” Is a Fascinating Take on Lesser-Known Shakespeare; Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho Inject Crazy Adrenaline Into “Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club”

Kowalski (c) Russ Rowland

Theater: Kowalski 
The Duke on 42nd Street 

If I told you that the new play by Gregg Ostrin was about two men named Bud and Tom, who meet for the first time in 1947 at a summer cottage for an acting audition on Broadway, it would be a fine premise. But what if it’s based on a true incident when Tom, or maybe you may know him as the playwright Tennessee Williams, meets a then mostly unknown actor Marlon Brando (Bud to his friends) to see if he’s right for the role of Stanley Kowalski in the Broadway premiere production of A Streetcar Named Desire. That gives the play a bit more spice as one would have loved to have been in the room where it happened when the homosexual Williams (played with the iciest of Southern warmth by Robin Lord Taylor) first meets the heteroflexible Brando (the charismatic but too-cool-for-school Brandon Flynn), who will shoot to super stardom in the role of Stanley. The problem is that Williams envisioned Kowalski as a 30-year-old man (John Garfield would be his choice) and Brando is in his early-20s, but as a favor to the play’s director Elia Kazan, he agrees to audition Brando. Although Ostrin falls into the historical fiction trap of dropping references that will eventually make it into Streetcar (Stanley’s eating habits that disgust Blanche as well as the famous, guttural “Stella” scream), he does give us an evenly matched meeting between these two towering figures of American Theater, as Williams is already high on his own resume (his Broadway debut play, The Glass Menagerie, was a big hit) and Brando seems already bored with stardom, even though he’s only played bit parts. 

Kowlaski (c) Russ Rowland

The two charismatic actors seem very comfortable on stage inhabiting these iconic figures considering both are mostly known for their TV work on Gotham (Taylor played the Penguin) and 13 Reasons Why (Flynn was the problematic high school quarterback). Director Colin Hanlon keeps the sexual tension high, especially with the appearance of Williams’ damaged paramour Pancho Rodriguez (Sebastian Treviño) and Brando’s current distraction, 20-year-old actress Jo (Ellie Ricker). Completing the cast is the reliable Alison Cimmet as the director Margo Jones, even though she’s mostly there for exposition. Williams and Brando may have had this date with each other from the beginning, but Ostrin’s enjoyable Kowalski provides more dramatic moments that make the foregone outcome (when it comes) that much more satisfying. 

Cymbeline (c) Julieta Cervantes

Theater: Cymbeline 
A NAATCO Production at the Lynn F. Angelson Theatre 

The ending of any Shakespeare play is always a bit of slog. Like the detective in an Agatha Christie mystery, the Bard usually has his characters recap essentially the whole of the play we just watched for the last two hours before every last twisted misunderstanding gets untangled by the curtain. For the longest time, I thought Twelfth Night was the most egregious of these recaps, but then I saw a production of the less produced Cymbeline and (I will put on record right now) the ending and resolution of this late career Shakespeare play is the most batshit crazy (although, to be fair, no character gets turned into a tree or “exits, pursued by a bear” as in A Winter’s Tale). The National Asian American Theatre Company’s latest production, adapted admirably by Andrea Thome and directed smoothly by Stephen Brown-Fried, really digs into these Act 5 revelations, with each successive one giving the extremely talented Asian American, female/female-presenting cast a chance to mime humorously, “Wait, there’s more?” In a nutshell, Cymbeline takes place in ancient England during the time of Roman Emperor Augustus, where King Cymbeline (the wonderful veteran actress Amy Hill) has refused to pay tributes to Rome, causing a possible war. Meanwhile, the king is also dealing with his rebellious daughter Imogen (the sympathetic Jennifer Lim), who has married her longtime love Posthumous (KK Moggie, making the most of the play’s most dubious character), but Cymbeline wants her to marry the vain Cloten (Jeena Yi, stealing every scene she’s in), who is the son of his new wife, the scheming and power-hungry Queen (a powerful Maria-Christina Oliveras). The banished Posthumous ends up in Rome where he is challenged by the boisterous Iachimo (the sly Anna Ishida) to seduce the virtuous Imogen. 

Cymbeline (c) Julieta Cervantes

Yes, there is a lot of toxic male energy in this play, which is why it’s so interesting to see a cast of female actors play all the roles. This talented troop of 11 handles the adapted Shakespearean language with ease, which is especially helpful for the ones playing multiple roles, like the expressive Annie Fang, who acts as sort of the narrator among other characters. But special mention has to go to Julyana Soelistyo (a Tony-nominee for Golden Child), who plays Posthumous’ loyal servant and protector of Imogen, Pisanio. Not sure if Pisanio is always seen as the hero of the play but Soelistyo’s humanity and empathy makes Pisanio the most important character on this stage. With a wonderfully inventive production (sets by Ant Ma, costumes by Mariko Ohigasi, lighting by Yiyuan Li, sound by Caroline Eng, all excellent), it’s hard not to admire and celebrate this enjoyable production of Cymbeline. 

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (c) Julieta Cervantes

Broadway: Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club 
At the August Wilson Theatre 

I was a bit hesitant to re-enter The Kit Kat Club, post-election as it was already scary to witness this incredibly prescient musical revival about the rise of fascism in 1930s Berlin last April, even before our current political situation. And proving the adage that “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” it felt like it would be too depressing to revisit this especially down-and-dirty and immersive revival of the Kander and Ebb 1967 musical by director Rebecca Frecknall. I was a fan of this production’s reinvention as well as Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and newcomer Gayle Rankin in the lead roles of the Emcee and Sally Bowles, so I decided to see the first replacement cast of American Idol alum and Queen lead singer, Adam Lambert, and the voice of the animated Moana, Auli’i Cravalho. And I was happy I did. The two have different, more muscular takes on the roles. If Redmayne was playing the Emcee as a mischievous French mime, Lambert’s vibe is more of a defiant Pennywise the Clown, a stronger and more dangerous masters of ceremonies. 

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (c) Julieta Cervantes

Rankin felt like she was one bad acid trip away from oblivion. Cravalho, on the other hand, feels more resilient (and thus, more delusional) as the headliner who keeps sleeping herself to the bottom. Both actors are powerful singers, and they don’t let their fans down in their showstopping final numbers (“I Don’t Care Much” for Lambert and the title song for Cravalho). Maybe to match their energy, the latest Cliff and Fraulein Kost (Calvin Leon Smith and Michelle Aravena, respectively) also exude more self-confidence than their predecessors. Of course, Bebe Neuwirth and Steven Skybell are still the heart and soul of this production, both deepening their interpretations of the older couple who figures out, maybe a little too late, that Berlin is changing for the worse. Everything about the production remains thrillingly immersive, but let me point out the wonderfully decadent pre-show performers (especially the tireless Deja McNair) who are scattered throughout the theater before performing a raunchy finale on stage right before the show properly begins. You only have two months to catch this electric iteration of Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club as it has just been announced that the famously masked country star Orville Peck and the always exciting two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada are taking over as the leads at the end of March. Exciting news, indeed.

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