ROUNDUP REVIEWS: A look back at Broadway’s up-and-down year
Photo: Deborah Findlay and Ron Cook star in The Children at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel Friedman Theatre on Broadway. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus.
NEW YORK — The Tony Awards have been given out, and media are publishing the requisite lists of snubs and surprises. The Band’s Visit dominated, while wins for Once on This Island and Laurie Metcalf in Three Tall Women surprised audience members. Angels in America fared well, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child added to its Hogwarts trophy cabinet.
When looking back at the Broadway offerings in 2017-2018, there’s a lack of continuity and not much of a theme. The offerings, many of which are still playing in Midtown Manhattan, run the gamut of small and intimate (The Band’s Visit) to revitalized (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel) to meaningful (Angels in America). There were several duds and a few that will likely last for years.
Perhaps the challenge of the 2017-2018 Broadway year was its need to follow the 2016-2017 Broadway year, which was, by most accounts, strong and daring. Think back to Indecent, a tremendously powerful play by Paula Vogel about a controversial Broadway production in the early 20th century. Kevin Kline impressed in Present Laughter, and he deservedly took him the Tony Award. Glenn Close was breathtaking in her reprised role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, which played an extended run at the Palace Theatre. Even In Transit, an a cappella musical about love in New York City, was diverse and different.
The play offerings were also memorable: John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation starring Allison Janney, Corey Hawkins and John Benjamin Hickey, closed too early, while Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, starring Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon in alternating roles, enlivened the classic text. Other successes included Sweat by Lynn Nottage, which took a close look at working-class America, and Oslo, which was an expansive play about a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
A Doll’s House, Part Two won Metcalf her first Tony; the sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s classic play proved interesting and engaging, albeit unnecessary. Dear Evan Hansen dominated the box office, the Tony Awards and audience’s hearts. That musical about the important themes of acceptance, loss, suicide prevention and love is still playing at the Music Box Theatre.
Other musicals didn’t fare as well as Dear Evan Hansen. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 was revelatory but didn’t last multiple years on Broadway, so the theater community toasted the ambitious show and bid farewell. Groundhog Day, starring a likable Andy Karl, could never find a large enough audience to watch the central character relive a single day over and over again. Ditto for Bandstand, a World War II era show that had its run cut too short (this one’s early departure hurt).
After all this came the 2017-2018 Broadway season. In addition to the many openings, there were the closings of some successful shows, including Cats (a worthy revival), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (proof that sometimes movies don’t make winning adaptations on stage) and On Your Feet (danceable yet fleeting).
Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the past season:
Marvin’s Room at Roundabout Theatre’s American Airlines Theatre failed to bring new pathos to this touching story of family strife amidst a personal health crisis. The production starred Janeane Garofalo, Lili Taylor and Celia Weston (the best of the three).
Time and the Conways, also at Roundabout Theatre’s American Airlines Theatre, starred a marvelous Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) in a show that was intermittently powerful. As the title suggests, time does not serve the Conway family well, and they struggle with finance and deception after the Great War. Check out Hollywood Soapbox’s review.
Springsteen on Broadway brought Bruce Springsteen to an intimate theater in Midtown Manhattan, the dream of many Boss fans. This reviewer has a ticket for his extended run this fall and will report back.
M. Butterfly deserved more attention. The David Henry Hwang play received a moving production from director Julie Taymor (The Lion King) and cast members Clive Owen and Jin Ha, two actors who were unfortunately overlooked by Tony voters.
Junk was a sprawling, engaging look at finance in capitalist America. The ensemble cast enraptured audiences for nearly three hours, and the structure of the Lincoln Center Theatre production felt similar to the previous season’s Oslo.
The Band’s Visit is the best musical of the season. The connection between an Israeli community and a band of Egyptian musicians is a subtle look at the power of dialogue and acceptance, and it rightfully earned every single one of its 10 Tony Awards. Congratulations especially to Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk and Ari’el Stachel. A longer review will follow on Hollywood Soapbox.
Latin History for Morons was a hilarious and poignant look at John Leguizamo’s quest to teach his son about Latin American history. In between the many laughs, there are numerous lessons about who writes the history books and who is largely forgotten. Leguizamo, who won a special Tony Award, will reprise his role for three performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center later this month. It’s for a special HBO taping; tickets appear to be sold out.
Truth be told, this reviewer arrived late for Home for the Holidays: The Broadway Concert Celebration, so a full review is not possible. It didn’t appear much was missed.
Meteor Shower, starring Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Benanti and Jeremy Shamos, never gelled for this reviewer. The comedy from Steve Martin and director Jerry Zaks never felt real and genuine, and the laughs ran out of steam, even in a production that ran only 80 minutes.
The Parisian Woman, starring Uma Thurman, received Rating: 
from Hollywood Soapbox. Check out the review here.
The Children was one of the best plays of the season. The Lucy Kirkwood show was very un-Broadway in its presentation, featuring three characters talking about their time working at a nuclear energy facility, but for audiences who dedicated themselves to the drama, it packed an emotional wallop. Check out Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with star Ron Cook.
Farinelli and the King brought Mark Rylance back to Broadway. That was enough reason for celebration, even if Claire van Kampen’s play was a bit spotty in parts. The staging was similar to Rylance’s recent offerings of William Shakespeare on Broadway, Twelfth Night and Richard III (two far superior productions).
Saint Joan, from the Manhattan Theatre Club, was a production that didn’t grab the headlines, but thanks to Condola Rashad’s central performance, it proved memorable. The George Bernard Shaw classic still invigorates and discusses themes that can be found in 2018. Check out Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with star Adam Chanler-Berat.
Reviews will be forthcoming for Once on This Island, SpongeBob Squarepants, Escape to Margaritaville, Angels in America, Frozen, Three Tall Women, Mean Girls, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, My Fair Lady, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Travesties, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh — all of which are still playing.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
