As You Like It (2017) (Public Works)

For the tenth anniversary of Public Works, Shakespeare in the Park re-staged the incredible musical-adaptation of As You Like It (which lends itself well to the musical genre) brought to life by Shaina Taub, who also plays Jaques. It's kind of incredible how perfect this play is for the mission of Public Works, to blur the line between community members and professional performers. Because "All the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players". It's about the power of theater as a unifying force. It's beautiful and just the show we need in the pandemic. It's a celebration of community and diversity. The ending is poignant with old Rosalind and Orlando, and young Jaques, who is actually a noticeably stronger singer than the composer who casts herself a la Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The plot is unbelievable and convoluted and honestly kind of irrelevant. It has a happy ending, naturally, relatively lightweight for Shakespeare. But it is hilarious and really quite clever. There is a wrestling scene that is staged as a fun luchador battle. "Let's go Bronco, let's go Frankie" reminded me of Bronco Henry haha. The set is gorgeous. With the Belvedere Castle in the background, there is a bridge and three beautiful trees representing the Arden. The band is beneath the bridge. The cast is easily a hundred strong, surely the biggest company they've had at the Delacorte and they're wonderful. They're a reflection of us and there's something very moving about that.

Better Call Saul (2015-22)

I'll be the first to admit that following the end of Breaking Bad, arguably one of the best TV shows of all time, I did not think we needed a prequel show, much less one about the weird sleazy lawyer supporting character. But I was wrong. Better Call Saul evolved into its own wonderful thing. Yes, it was slow, maybe even slower than Breaking Bad, if you can believe that. But the long cons Saul ran were incredibly complex, dragging out across multiple episodes, full seasons, and so they take time. If you had the patience, you were amply rewarded. It was often funny, quirky, intense and harrowing all at once. The writing and acting were always top notch.

The ending was wonderful. The redemption storyline really resonated after seeing what Saul/Jimmy/Gene went through. He has regrets and that bittersweet flashback to Chuck got me. Chuck, after all, was the major plot of the first half of the series. It is in the second half when Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler got a chance to shine.  She was consistently the best performer on TV and I think she'll finally be recognized by the Emmy voters. I think Bob Odenkirk, the comedian, will finally win too for a dramatic role. 
 

A Little Night Music (2022) (Barrington Stage Company)

How appropriate for Act I to end with A Weekend in the Country for our weekend in the country. It's really extraordinary how Barrington Stage Company has grown and thrived over the last 28 years, making Pittsfield, MA a regional theater destination, so much so that we saw Norm Lewis in the audience! It wasn't sold out, but definitely a majority of the seats were occupied. The Boyd-Quinson stage was actually pretty large and the they got some big names in the cast. The 7-piece orchestra was admittedly a little thin. And I think it's not Sondheim's best music. I love the complex counterpoint but it's not especially melodic or hummable. Typical Sondheim, criticism, I know, but after Company and Into the Woods this year, this is definitely the inferior music. It is certainly more challenging to follow and appreciate than Into the Woods. Of course, there is the iconic Send in the Clowns and that scene was brilliantly acted by Emily Skinner. But other than that, I wasn't really into the other songs. The Miller's Son is good, I guess, but doesn't really fit there after Send in the Clowns, sung by a minor character. The opening is a dance, rather than a song, which was kind of surprising. When the chorus sings, it's pretty difficult to make out the lyrics. And of course, near impossible to catch all the lyrics in the counterpoint when they're singing over each other. But I don't doubt Sondheim's brilliance. The story is adapted from a Bergman film, a sex comedy recalling a Shakespearean comedy of shuffling partners. It works on stage and though it took a little while for the plot to get going, by the time we got to Act II with all the players in place, it was a good time.

Into the Woods (2022) (Broadway)

You wouldn't have been able to tell from the Disney movie-adaptation of Into the Woods, but Stephen Sondheim's fairy-tale musical is actually raucously funny. The newest production, recently transferred to Broadway from Encores! at City Center, is extremely campy. And it works so well that it leads me to believe it was always meant to be this way. Especially in the first act, which is generally lighter in tone, the comedy is integral to the production. And even when it takes a darker turn in the second act, it's still there. The second act, by the way, is still excellent, despite being basically an entirely different show. The second act is almost a non sequitur in tone and plot. There is a beautiful moral somewhere in there about childhood and innocence and the example we set for the next generation. It just so happens to be cleverly intertwined with familiar fairy tales. 

The set is pretty bare bones, but it's made up for by some very imaginative puppetry, specifically for Milky White(!), the giant's hands and shoes, and the birds. Kennedy Kanagawa is a standout puppeteer, literally endowing emotions into the simple cow puppet. The orchestra sits on stage and Sondheim's lush melodies come through beautifully (looked like maybe a 20-piece orchestra). The songs are such that there are many one or two-liners that various characters pop onto stage to recite before exiting. The lack of set helps make that more believable. 

Standouts from the cast include Patina Miller at the top. I remember being awestruck by her Leading Player in Pippin, and she is deliriously wicked as the Witch here. Sara Bareilles has now gone full Broadway, and her voice is actually beautifully suited to Sondheim. I would've liked to see Neil Patrick Harris but I think Brian d'Arcy James made an excellent Baker too. And Phillipa Soo as Cinderella is good too (Chinese Cinderella!). Jack and Little Red Ridinghood as the child characters can really play up the camp--Julia Lester as sassy Little Red is especially funny.

PS. Morgan slept through basically the whole thing. I kept nudging her back awake and then she'd get mad at me and promptly doze back off. Shame because it was really good! At least she wasn't missing any visuals. The woman in front of me was really tall unfortunately, blocking a third of the stage.

A Strange Loop (Broadway) (2022)

Michael R Jackson's long-gestating passion project is certainly the blackest, queerest show to ever hit a Broadway stage. Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway show is actually an excellent descriptor for A Strange Loop. Emphasis on the "American", claiming its place in the canon of American musicals, telling a uniquely American story. While the traditional gatekeepers may have kept this from ever seeing a stage, Broadway is all the better for it. It's nothing like the usual American stories we see on stage. And it's not really for your typical Midwestern white tourist family Broadway audience. It is wildly profane, if not visually graphic. It's not family-friendly, and yet I also feel like the high school generation will appreciate it more than the typical retiree theatergoer. 

I will say that the sound mixing in the Lyceum Theater was terrible.  I missed a lot of Jackson's clever lyrics in the catchy music. Maybe the actors aren't mic-ed right, or the band was too loud or our seats were too high or what but the lyrics didn't come through clearly and it's a shame because they're really funny. The Lyceum balcony is very steep. When I walked in to the theater, the curtain was down with the title of the show in small type-writer font, making me a little worried. But when the curtain raised, the actors stood front and center, and they actually weren't that far away; the fonts were a trick of the eye. The action also largely stays at the front of the stage, making most every seat in the house full view. It's a mostly minimalist set, save for one extravagant set piece at the end. 

The tight seven-person cast is all excellent. The young Jaquel Spivey is fresh out of college in his Broadway debut. He is on stage for most of the 110 minute runtime, sometimes with his back to the audience (interesting choice). His six Thoughts all play double duty. All six of them play multiple characters, both men and women, characters of varying personas. They're all fabulously distinct. The Thought that plays Usher's mother especially stands out, John-Andrew Morrison.

Clearly inspired by Company, the show lacks a plot. It balances comedy and emotion and feels so real and personal. It's super meta. And I'll admit that it was a little too clever for me. Though Usher explains the title multiple times, the title still went over my head. It's brilliant, but I need some help with the analysis. We'll have to revisit this down the road.