Our Town

by Ben Wolfson

“ ”. That’s the most poignant moment of Our Town. You didn’t catch that? Here, I’ll say it again, “ ”. You probably think there is a spelling mistake or that the wrong article was published. Let me explain.

In order not to spoil the whole play for you (not to mention the third act, which is so vivid, due to its profound moments of induced introspection and self-evaluation), I’ll summarize it in a sentence: Boy in suburban town meets girl, they get married and then the third act.

The few props onstage are used creatively. For instance, one of the chairs is put on the table to symbolize the second story of the house. The actors are so in tune with their characters that they seem to have grown up in Grover’s Corners.

The “ ” is silence. Funny how a show can be so loud when nothing is said. The silences in Our Town puncture the fabric of the fourth wall* and, just like the Stage Manager who narrates the play, the silences tell us of the deeper woes, thoughts and feelings of the characters.

If you’re a teenager looking for a show with humor and heart that will give you a new found respect for life, see Our Town. You won’t regret it.

*Fourth Wall: The invisible line that divides the actors from the audience.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $20 student rush • Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St.

The 39 Steps

by Grace Lisandrelli

Broadway’s The 39 Steps is an action-packed tale of suspense, love and adventure adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film. Englishman Richard Hannay, bored with life, is falsely accused of murdering the beautiful and mysterious Annabella Smith. Prior to her demise, Smith warns Hannay of the shadowy 39 Steps and its threat to the world, but fails to identify precisely what the 39 Steps are. She does, however, leave behind clues that lead to the answer. Running from the law and ever further towards the 39 Steps, Hannay finds himself in one absurd predicament after another.

The show’s dialogue and its delivery were crisp and funny. The four actors played many distinct characters. The two actors who played the most roles were Jeffery Kuhn and Arnie Burton. They did a superb job with the wide range of characters — men, women, old, young, flirtatious, dastardly.

The 39 Steps is a must-see performance, particularly if you are looking for some good laughs to last all evening. And then some.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $26.50 student rush • Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 W. 44th St.

The Toxic Avenger

by Claire Pienaar

Having lived in New York City my whole life, I have developed a mix of disgust and humor regarding the state of New Jersey. I’ve often traveled through our industrial neighbor and inhaled the toxic fumes—probably more than I should have. This is one of the reasons that I loved the musical The Toxic Avenger.

Melvin Ferd the Third is a nerd who hopes to clean up the harmful toxic waste that plagues the state of New Jersey to win the heart of Sara, the ditzy, blind librarian. The Republican mayor makes profit in the piling waste, and she sends her goons to end Melvin. They drop him in a vat of toxic goo, but instead of dying, Melvin gains superhuman strength, some frightening new looks, and a compulsive loud roar. He becomes a hero with the mayor still out to kill him.

The humor is very crude and at times very gory; at one point, toxic Melvin (a.k.a. Toxie) squirts some brain juice into the audience. The five actors play many roles, sometimes with half-and-half costumes, which brings more humor out of their performances.

The Toxic Avenger is a love story with some misplaced eyeballs, appendectomies and French toast. If you live in New York City and are a fan of gory, physical and unsophisticated humor, you will enjoy this play.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 Tickets thru Nov. 24th with the code TOPBP909. Visit www.broadwayoffers.com to buy tickets or visit box office at New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St.

Superior Donuts

by Ben Ellentuck

Superior Donuts made me smile. It also made me laugh; quite a bit, in fact. It made me happy and sad and completely in awe of playwright Tracy Letts’ ability to manipulate my emotions so deftly. Ironically, it did not make me particularly hungry.

Arthur owns a depressing donut shop, Superior Donuts, where two cops and a delightfully tipsy woman, known as “Lady,” are the regulars (and possibly the only customers). Everyone is a little bit lonely. On the morning after Arthur’s shop has been vandalized, one energetic, charismatic, and most of all, broke 21-year-old, Franco Wicks (read an interview here), arrives looking for a job. Both Arthur and Franco have their share of past troubles: Arthur is a pessimistic draft- dodging former-hippie with a recently-deceased ex-wife and a daughter far away. Franco is looking for some fast cash to pay off a large debt. 
The actors make Letts’ carefully honed script come alive. The dynamic between Franco and Arthur becomes nothing short of brilliant as they form a tight father-son bond over the course of the play. 

Superior Donuts is truly effective and affecting. I laughed many times, almost cried (I probably would’ve if I were a crier) and was truly touched by the ending. Plus, it made me smile. And to get a person to smile is a beautiful thing. 

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW:  $29.50 Student Rush • Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St.

Oleanna

by Sabrina Khan 

Picture yourself as a professor whose ideals conflict with a student’s. What lengths would you go to in order to stay true to your beliefs?  How far would you go to protect yourself, or achieve success, if it meant betraying your ideals? How would you recognize it if you already had?

Now, imagine that you are a student whose beliefs challenge your professor’s authority. You follow your beliefs completely, but you take extreme measures. You ruin everything the professor has worked for. How would you justify your actions? 

Both the professor and the student end up in a sticky situation, so which would you rather be? In the end, whatever side you take, you’re wrong.

David Mamet’s Oleanna explores such profound questions and the invisible battle lines drawn within the professor-student relationship. Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, who play John (the professor) and Carol (the student), both give tremendous performances in this stunning look into the complexities of academic hierarchy.

The entire play takes place in the John’s spacious office and opens as he answers a phone call while Carol waits to speak. The first act can be difficult to follow because most of the dialogue is delivered in fragments. We soon discover, however, that John is in the process of gaining tenure. Meanwhile, Carol is distraught because she is lost in the classroom and refuses to fail, at least not without a fight. A simple discussion about Carol’s grades and her inability to understand John’s book escalates into an argument about his teaching methods. Soon enough, the roles are reversed and Carol gains more control over the situation than John or the audience expects. According to her, John is guilty of sexual exploitation and now runs the risk of losing his job. At this juncture, both are sharply abused by the other and push one another to the brink of sanity and us to the edge of our seats.

The script blazes with brilliant discourse fired from both characters. As the audience, we become emotionally invested and take sides, but we find it difficult to completely support either character. As Carol provokes John, we understand his anger, and as he attempts to pacify and patronize her, we feel her degradation. One wonders if John is right about education when he says that it is just “prolonged and systematic hazing,” and one considers Carol’s right to doubt his ability as an educator. How can he conceive of such an idea while teaching those who hope to learn?  It is all a matter of power—who has it and who can manipulate it to his or her advantage.

Oleanna makes immense social and political commentary. Mamet compels us to critically view the educational platform and see that the same problems exist in every leader-subject dynamic.

It is no coincidence that the play, originally written in 1992, was Mamet’s response to the highly publicized Anita Hill - Clarence Thomas hearings. Thomas, currently an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, came under fire during his 1991 confirmation hearings when Hill, an attorney who used to work for him, testified that he had sexually harassed her. He was confirmed despite the allegations, but the truth behind them is still debated to this day.

Oleanna is an intensely powerful show sure to provoke the mind of any audience member.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 Student Rush • Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th Street

Hamlet

by Zoe Wolfe

In reviewing one of Shakespeare’s most iconic and tragic tales, where does one begin? The classic “to be or not to be” speech? The star studded cast? The set? The directing? All of these must be discussed in due time, but it might be best to start at the beginning.

As the dim lights come up, you see Hamlet (only recognizable because we know that he is played by Jude Law) kneeling, looking forlorn. This puts the viewer in a highly focused, almost frightened mindset. But as Hamlet exits and Barnardo and Francisco enter, the feeling is shattered. They start jabbering away, throwing around the witty lines that Shakespeare wrote for them, putting the audience at an utter loss. They speak so quickly that it is nearly impossible to keep up with what they are saying without having read the play at least a dozen times before. In the way they speak, they could be any duo from any Shakespeare play.

All of Law’s actions, however, are carefully chosen. You know exactly why he’s moving in a certain direction, or why he’s using a certain tone of voice. His intentions and the meaning of his lines are clear, even if you can’t understand every single word he’s saying. It is evident that director Michael Grandage put a lot of thought into Hamlet’s character and that he spent a lot of time working with Law to perfect his performance. Their hard work pays off, and Law’s portrayal of Hamlet is wonderfully in tune.

If Grandage had put as much thought into the rest of the characters as he did into Hamlet, then the play could have been truly amazing. With a number of characters, including Barnardo, Francisco, Horatio and Ophelia, all intentions are lost. The audience cannot clearly see what they want or how they are going to get it. While this might suffice in a contemporary play, the problem is blaringly obvious here. Many Shakespearean words and phrases are confusing or unfamiliar, so it would be in the director’s best interest to treat the script as a foreign language. Everything needs to be clear, or the audience will be lost.

The production’s time period is confusing, too. All of the characters are wearing somewhat modern clothes. The older men wear formal suits, while the women wear modern formal clothing. This is set against the stone backdrop of a medieval castle. This effect is not too confusing, because it seems to be trying to achieve an ambiguous time period. It gets muddled when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s school friends, are introduced as characters. They are dressed in dark jeans and peacoats—very 2009.

They also act like modern people, while the older actors act more reserved, either trying to maintain ambiguity or Shakespearian pomp. Through his sarcasm and sporadic bursts of energy, Law also acts with modern flair. While Grandage might have been trying to show a difference between the old and the young, his choice works against him and confuses the viewer. He could have gone one way or the other, and in my opinion, he should have chosen to direct Hamlet as a modern play, because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of the best-acted characters.

While Hamlet is many things at once, and is sometimes plain confusing, it is still an enjoyable experience. Through Law’s portrayal of Hamlet, the audience gets an inside view into his character’s mind. Hamlet speaks directly to the audience with openness and a bare honesty that amazes the viewer. This play has the potential to be truly great, but it is missing the little bit of effort that it would need to reach that level.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $35 student rush tickets. Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th St.

Our Town

by Dalia Wolfson

When you first come to the Barrow Street Theater, it seems a little shabby. But just wait a while, until the lights go down, and a man with bright, searching eyes enters the room. He is the Stage Manager (a character, not tech person) and he holds a glowing cell phone. You've probably already extinguished yours, but sit quietly and wait for him to talk, not into the phone, but to you.  Because once the Stage Manager begins to speak, he will conjure up a whole county within several square feet. Grover's Corners of the early twentieth century will materialize in front of your eyes, filling the theater, with pulsating air.

The Stage Manager directs the audience through the childhood, adolescence, and brief adulthood and marriage of Emily Webb and George Gibbs. Their relationship is sweet, like a sort of simple sugar, with a proposal over cherry soda. Eventually, that sugar of life will heat up, turn to caramel, and finally to carbon ashes.

The final act, in particular, brings an added dimension to the story (including a stunning surprise), making the audience reconsider life and the monotony of daily routines. Playwright Thorton Wilder reminds us that, too often, we don't pay attention to “clocks ticking...and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up.” The audience is forced to realize that we have an obligation to truly appreciate the beauty of this water, that bird and the sound of heliotrope blossoms in the springtime.

We emerge from the theatre with a new breath. Sigh softly for the comfortable, unconscious world of Grover's Corners, summoned and snapped shut by the Stage Manager's careful words. Director David Cromer has created a masterpiece out of Wilder's script, molding the characters, settings and speech into a little microcosm that provides a patch of warmth on a cold autumn evening.

So when it is time to leave this town and enter the next one, our planet, make sure you're not just acting. For Pete's sake, live, breathe and be Wilder. Now more than ever, the earth needs an encore. 

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $20 student rush. Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St.

County of Kings

by Monikha Reyes

The audience speaks in high murmurs, excited about the show that has yet to begin. Suddenly, to our right, Lemon Anderson silences the crowd, spitting out the first lyrics to the show. All eyes are on him as he makes his way to the stage, demanding attention as he begins the tale of his childhood.

 
County of Kings is a one-man, hip-hop, coming-of-age memoir. Lemon Anderson describes growing up with his family, the gossiping old women on his block, having sex and selling drugs. He brings close to home how easy it is to fall from the straight path when growing up with negative influences. By the end, we realized that a lesson was learned through every bad decision, and that every ordeal led to the man we saw before us. Without all of his experiences, whether harsh or tender, Lemon Anderson would never have entered the Def Poetry Jam, which started his career as a poet.

The music has a great beat that made many people bob their head in unison. It’s a treat to hear blasts from the pasts as familiar songs flood from the speakers, reinforcing the decade onstage. Quick narration keeps things moving, leaving not even a yawn to be stifled.

County of Kings is definitely a show worth seeing. It will leave you with a new outlook on life.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 tickets, Culture Project, Public Theater, 425 Lafayette.

The 39 Steps

by Ben Ellentuck

Calling all Anglophiles*, Alfred Hitchcock fans, and ticket buyers simply in the mood for fun: The 39 Steps is for you! 

Based on the 1935 Hitchcock film of the same title, The 39 Steps chronicles the adventures of Richard Hannay, an innocent man who, like so many other Hitchcock men, is accidentally caught up in a high-stakes international spy game. And yet the play is not a thriller. Well, not first and foremost. Mostly, it is a light-hearted comedy in which four actors play more roles than I can count. 

The actors clearly have their rhythm down. The piece strikes the right tempo—a sprightly allegretto—and is able to maintain it fairly consistently until the very end. If it gets slow, which occasionally does happen, it never stays slow for long. The actors are hams (think Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream), but the play is a play for hams.

Again, this is not a thriller—this is a parody of a thriller. You will not be particularly scared. You will not cry, well, unless you have a habit of crying when watching a comedy. You will perhaps laugh, however. No, scratch that: you will definitely laugh.

 

The 39 Steps isn’t the world’s funniest evening, but there really is something in it for everyone to enjoy. This fast-paced frolic is pure entertainment. And what better reason to go to the theatre? 

*somebody interested in people from England. 

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $26.50 student rush • Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 W. 44th St.

Vigil

by Nat Marcus

Vigil is a new Off-Broadway comedy that revolves around the relationship between a nephew and his dying aunt. Their shaded familiarity and endearing discomfort is examined in the simple setting of her bedroom. At first glance, the plot of this play sounds like a total snore, but the chaotic way in which the play unfolds and the heaping portion of bitter comedy makes me want to hang out at funeral homes.

The play opens with Kemp, the nephew, leaving his job and home in order to care for his ailing aunt, Grace. Although this seems like an incredibly selfless and responsible thing to do, Kemp is revealed to be a bit off-center as he is clearly only waiting for his aunt to die. Grace is strangely unfazed by his abhorrent behavior, even while Kemp continually talks about death and even plans her funeral. After Kemp and Grace pass a year together in this fashion, an elderly woman across the street passes away. Something uncannily links this dead woman to Kemp, and he realizes that he might have made a mistake.

The format of Vigil is very unique, with short rambling monologues from Kemp and many blackouts, making the play very fast-paced. Both actors portrayed their characters with specificity and nuance. Grace doesn’t speak at all until the end of the first act, and even in the second act, she only speaks a few times. I commend both for holding the audiences interest throughout the whole show, with one constantly speaking and the other hardly ever opening her mouth. The set is detailed and convincing, and the subdued madcap music reflects on the dark and hilarious nature of the play perfectly.

I would recommend Vigil to anyone looking for a sharp and witty play.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $20 student rush tickets. DR2 Theatre 103 E. 15th Street. 

The Toxic Avenger

by Zoe Wolfe 

The Toxic Avenger is a musical presented in a comic book style and is chock full of fight scenes and cheesy jokes. It has a typical comic book story line−Melvin is a wimpy guy who is pushed into toxic waste and gets super powers and is then able to save Sarah, blind librarian he likes.

Throughout the play there was a strong “go green” environmental message. Toxie (Melvin after his toxic transformation) avenges people who have been polluting New Jersey with toxic waste. While “don’t pollute the earth” could be seen as the overall message of the show, there is also the theme that true love comes in all forms, as shown through the relationship that Toxie has with Sarah. They are both misfits, but they come together in the end. I found this mix of messages confusing. Toxie’s environmental campaign could have been downplayed more, and I found myself wondering what a message to save the earth was doing in the middle of a musical.

Don’t be fooled, this is no play for the faint of heart. The fight scenes don’t have any blood, but many people are beheaded, dismembered and disemboweled, painting a pretty gruesome picture. There were also many mature jokes, which contradict the good-humored family-friendly feel the play has.

All flaws aside, The Toxic Avenger was made enjoyable by the energy and talent of the cast. They all sung very well and threw themselves into their characters. Even the two men who played the majority of the characters put an equal and abundant amount of energy into each and every character. 

The Toxic Avenger was very quirky and in some parts utterly bizarre, but if you don’t read too much into it, it is very enjoyable.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 Tickets thru Nov. 24^th with the code TOPBP909. Visit www.broadwayoffers.com to buy tickets.

Oleanna

by Jahnesha Huertas

 
David Mamet’s audience-dividing Oleanna follows Carol (Julia Stiles), an academically struggling student, when she comes to her professor, John (Bill Pullman), in a desperate attempt to raise her grade. Carol doesn’t want to simply protect her GPA, but she wants to actually UNDERSTAND the material in order to understand life as a whole, John agrees to re-teach the entire semester to her during private one-one sessions, but,in the midst of doing so, he challenges all that Carol believes about life, authority and power. He refers to higher education as “prolonged hazing” and tells to Carol that all personal issues, financial struggles and sexual prejudices she has overcome to gain acceptance to the institution have been pointless.

John’s intentions are pure. He is working on receiving tenure at the institution and seems to see a bit of himself in Carol. Though they are of different ages, sexes and economic classes, they each have an idealistic sense of achievement they want to fulfill. John repeatedly has private sessions with Carol and says he wants to help her because he “likes” her. Carol then brings a suite against John for sexual harassment. She recalls everything that the audience has seen, but attaches malicious intentions to John’s words, causing the audience to rethink what actually happened.

The set realistically modeled a professor’s office. There were no set changes since the entire play took place in John’s office, but there were numerous costume changes that I found disturbing. To represent the passing of time, the stage would fade to black after and the window shades of the professor’s office would rise to show the campus outside (either sunny or winter-like to inform the audience of the season) and then close again. The actors would then return in different or altered clothing. Technically, this gave the actors time for a wardrobe change, but in terms of the flow of the story it depleted artistic continuity. For a moment, the audience was taken out of the realm of the plot, and the actors had to work even harder in the next scene to recapture the energy.

The true question of Oleanna is what is power and how does it fit into the idealistic standards we set for our lives? Carol didn’t lie in her accusations, she simply recounted what she felt had happened. Although she did report the truth, I feel she altered the facts to show her professor that, although he has the authority, she has the power. Words and actions are perceived differently and that difference in perception defines our interaction with humanity and what embodies our individual visions of what is “truth”.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 Student Rush • Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th Street www.oleannaonbroadway.com

Hip-Hop Theater Festival

by Christa Tandana

Do you like hip-hop? How about theater? Well, you should check out the Hip-Hop Theater Festival! It’s three weeks of new art in the forms of spoken word, music, dance and theatre - all using hip-hop.

This is the festival’s ninth year of presenting original work from both American and international artists. One of their goals is to prolong the art of live performance by bringing new, younger audiences to the theater in large numbers.

The festival even has a youth theater night, called Young, Gifted & Hyped, presenting some new work from by high school students from NYC and around the country. It’s playing on October 6 & 7 at the Ohio Theater, 66 Wooster Street. Check out what the buzz is all about.

And don't miss Angela's Mixtape by Eisa Davis (from Passing Strange). “On this mixtape, style will dictate, we bounce back and forth in time…” Using the rhythms of music and memory, Eisa tells the story of a radical upbringing on the dividing line between Oakland and Berkeley, California -- in a family that includes her aunt, professor and activist Angela Davis. At the Ohio Theater, 66 Wooster Street, October 15, 16 & 17.

Take a look at www.hhtf.org to see what other shows are going on thru October 17th. This is an event you don’t want to miss!

***NEXT WEEK ONLY 2 FOR 1 SPECIAL FOR YOUNG, GIFTED & HYPED, THE WORD BEGINS & ZOMO THE RABBIT. Use 2FOR1 code for advance sales only & tickets cannot be mixed & matched between the shows.**