Redwood (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Broadway: Redwood
At the Nederlander Theatre
Jesse, the main character of the new musical Redwood by veteran Tina Landau and newcomer Kate Diaz, seems to be tailor-made for Idina Menzel in her first Broadway show since the Sliding Doors-like musical, If/Then. First of all, she’s back at the Nederlander Theatre, where she originated performance artist Maureen in Rent, always fighting with lesbian lover, Joanne. In Redwood, Jesse is married to a photographer, Mel (De’Adre Aziza), and at the start of the show, she is running away from their marriage for reasons we don’t find out until later. Menzel played Elsa, the Queen of Arrindell in the film Frozen, who reconnects with nature, which gave her ice powers. Jesse finds herself in the redwood forest of Eureka, California, where, after somehow convincing two tree botanists, Finn (Michael Park) and Becca (Khaila Wilcoxon), into letting her ascend the tree they’re studying, finds some semblance of peace. And like her Tony-winning role as Elphaba in Wicked, Jesse enjoys repelling from the tree in one of the best moments of Redwood, jumping all over the stage in her ropes and harness. And while I have liked Menzel in many of her roles, her performance here feels like her most complete as Jesse bares her soul, exuding pain and joy with powerful vocals and impressive athletics (I guess the height never bothered her anyway).
Redwood (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
While Menzel is the obvious draw, I was also surprised by other aspects of the production. The Landau-Diaz songs (with additional contributions by Menzel) are pretty catchy. Menzel gets to sing the most memorable song “Great Escape,” but the whole cast has lovely character moments and songs, with Wilcoxon almost out-diva-ing Menzel with two of her emotional solos. Rounding out the five-person cast is Zachary Noah Piser, who plays many roles, but it’s as Spencer, Jesse’s rebellious son, that Piser really pierces the heart in his one big song, “Still.” But the real “wow” factor of Redwood are the trees themselves, whether on stage (by set designer Jason Ardizzone-West) or on the almost IMAX-sized screens surrounding the stage by projection (designed by Hana S. Kim). Kim also gives us an unexpected homage to the Disney ride Soarin’ as Jesse explores the forest in the sky. As a person who suffers from motion sickness, I was a little shaky but survived. Also, this may be the first show, gorgeously directed by Landau, where the mezzanine seats may have the best view of Kim’s projection, but also the vertical movement choreography credited to Melecio Estrella, BANDALOOP. I was truly surprised by how caught up I was to a show that not only tells Jesse’s personal story but also the edu-musical aspects about redwoods and national parks. As both feel endangered with the current administration (many forest rangers have lost their jobs), Redwood seems even more urgent and important now.
Grangeville (c) Emilio Madrid
Theater: Grangeville
At the Signature Theatre
In the career of most playwrights, there is the family exorcism play, be it Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Glass Menagerie or Three Tall Women. While watching Samuel D. Hunter’s Grangeville, I felt the same exploration and expelling of the demon of those earlier plays, even though the plot of this play could be totally fictional and just feels autobiographical. Grangeville is about two estranged half-brothers who have to deal with each other again with the impending death of their mother in the titular Idaho town. Arnold (Brian J. Smith) is the younger brother who left Grangeville as soon as he could to become a famous visual artist and is now living in Rotterdam with his husband. His older brother Jerry (Paul Sparks) has never left his hometown, working as a car salesman, is married with two children and has looked after their mother and the trailer the family calls their childhood home. The brothers mostly deal with each other on phone calls, both audio and video, as they have to navigate the red tape of their mother’s finances and insurance coverage. But these are emotional times for both men as Arnold is having a career crisis and feels artistically blocked as he wrestles with the fact that his best work may have been his earliest—dioramas of Grangeville itself (most of Hunter’s plays takes place in Idaho with other titular cities like Pocatello, Greater Clemens, A Bight New Boise), while Jerry is separated from his wife and moves back into to the trailer as the countdown clock seems to be ticking for their mother.
Grangeville (c) Emilio Madrid
The brothers are awkward with each other as the conversation goes from cordial to contentious as old wounds are brought up and picked at after all these years. Hunter uses his signature sparse, but loaded, dialogue as their past relationship is slowly revealed in Jack Serio’s austere and controlled production. The battle of the wills is a bit lopsided as Arnold seems to still be angry about his past while Jerry has pretty much reconciled with how his life has turned out. This imbalance makes the latter half of the play a bit of the exorcism that Arnold has to confront, mostly lashing out in an anger that feels honest, but halts the play until it is resolved. This is handled expertly by the two talented actors. It’s hard to be squirrely in a minimalist production, but Smith does it with his voice and body language to much success. Sparks is just plain great as Jerry, who he makes sympathetic, a bit over-his-head but also contrite. Their interaction, from the halting phone call at the beginning to an equally quiet but effective last scene, keeps the audience engaged with bated breath. Grangeville’s journey may not hold as many surprises as his last play, the astonishing A Case for the Existence of God, but I was glad to visit this small town, which according to its website, is very proud of finishing the last part of its sewer project. It all tracks.
Garside's Career (c) Maria Daranova
Theater: Garside’s Career
Presented by Mint Theater at Theatre Row
I am always surprised when I see a show at the Mint Theater because I am always shocked by the caliber and skill of the playwright of a play that has all been lost to history. This is definitely true of their current production: Garside’s Career, a 1914 play by British playwright Harold Brighouse (now mainly known as the writer of Hobson’s Choice, which was made into a 1954 film directed by David Lean). It is amazing that after over a century, the issues brought up by Brighouse are still sadly relevant. The title character, Peter Garside (Daniel Marconi), is a young working-class mechanic in the small British town of Midlanton during the early aughts of the 20th Century, who takes his future in his own hands by going to school and getting a degree. This upgrade makes him the perfect candidate for the Labour Party, who wants Garside to represent them in Parliament. While the play has some creaky moments and the old fashioned four act formula can make some plot conventions a bit hard to embrace, Garside’s rise (and ultimate fall) as a man in politics who believes his own marketing campaign over who he’s actually working for is irresistible in these times of politicians forgetting principles. Marconi is a burst of energy as Garside and you can’t keep your eyes off him, even as he starts to make the wrong decisions. But the whole ensemble is a joy to watch. Brighouse wrote especially juicy roles for women, including Amelia White as Garside’s no-nonsense mother and Madeline Seidman as Garside’s stoic girlfriend, as well as Melissa Maxwell and Sara Haider as a pair of upper-class women who get embroiled in Garside’s story. The men have a little less to do but sulk and orate, but they feel authentic in their portrayals, especially the funny Avery Whitted as the peevish, comic relief. Matt Dickson’s enjoyable and pitch-perfect production of Garside's Career, with an adaptable set by Christopher and Justin Swader and Kindall Almond’s lovely costumes, is lovingly ensconced at Theatre Row, waiting for you to discover the joy of rediscovery.
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