Top 5 Performances of 2008

TOP 5 BROADWAY PERFORMANCES


#1. Deanna Dunagan
I have not experienced a performance as engaging, intricate and complex as Deanna Dunagan’s interpretation of acid-tongued Violet Weston in August: Osage County. We saw the Pulitzer Prize winning show fairly early on its run but by then the buzz about Dunagan’s performance was loud and the expectations were high. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.


#2. Lin-Manuel Miranda
The exuberance with which Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted his Tony for Best Score speaks volumes about what he has assembled onstage at the Richard Rodgers. The young and talented star of In The Heights takes the American dream and those universal yearnings for success, for wealth and for love and brings a vivid story of family and belonging to Broadway. To see him perform that story was truly an experience to behold and I am happy that I had that opportunity.


#3. Amy Morton
August: Osage County is a masterfully written ensemble piece with solid performances throughout. However, to not single out Amy Morton’s performance would be a significant oversight. As Vi’s daughter Barbara Fordham, Tony nominated Amy Morton navigated her way through Letts’ tour-de-force and didn’t miss a beat. Not only did she navigate, she took you for a thrilling ride. After a brief stop back at Steppenwolf to direct Conor McPherson’s Dublin Carol, Morton reprised her role with most of the original cast in London. Yeah. It’s been a pretty awesome year for Ms. Morton.


#4. Cheyenne Jackson
I was certainly very late jumping on the Cheyenne Jackson train. But I’m glad I’m aboard. I had seen him in United 93 and thought he was very good. I never made the connection that that same actor was Sonny Malone in the unexpected hit of the season, Xanadu. I have since seen Cheyenne in Damn Yankees and in episodes of several YouTube series including [title of show] show, The Battery’s Down, Legally Brown – The Search for the Next Piragua Guy and, of course, the Cubby Bernstein videos. I look forward to whatever he does next. A class act and a stellar talent indeed.


#5. Daniel Radcliffe
Of all of the Broadway shows that I saw in 2008, I would have to say that Equus is the one that I anticipated the most. I never really posted a proper review of this production. Largely because I was insanely busy. Partly because I didn’t have a whole lot to say about it. However, one thing that delivered as expected was Daniel Radcliffe. His Alan Strang was subtle, complex and passionate. I hope that he continues filling his down time from Hollywood with stage work.

TOP 5 OFF-BROADWAY PERFORMANCES

#1. Jim Norton
It was his performance in Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer that earned him the Tony but it was his turn in The Atlantic Theater Company’s production of McPherson’s Port Authority that captured my heart. His simple and sad portrayal of Joe was heartbreaking. McPherson wrote a beautiful role and upon seeing Norton in Port Authority it became clear why he is frequently entrusted with roles in McPherson’s plays. It is because he is an actor that knows how to lovingly and masterfully bring those characters and that gorgeous language to life.


#2. Nick Blaemire
I saw Nick Blaemire perform in a lot of things last year, one of the reasons that he is also on my forthcoming Top 5 Discoveries of 2008 list. It is difficult to single out one performance, as they were all good. But I would have to say that it was in Joe Iconis’ The Black Suits that I was first won over. Nick is an energetic performer with an impressive vocal agility and a natural gift for musical comedy, qualities that were well showcased in Iconis’ rock musical.

#3. John Gallagher, Jr.
Last winter was one of transition for John Gallagher, Jr. He left Spring Awakening, he parted ways with Old Springs Pike and he landed a small role in Woody Allen’s new film. He also appeared in two productions at The Atlantic Theatre Company, Farragut North, which was touted as one of the best in 2008 by Time magazine. The other, the simple monologue play Port Authority. Gallagher’s sensitive performance, complete with a spot-on Irish brogue, proved once again why he is and will remain one of my favorite performers.


#4. Will Swenson
Charismatic actor Will Swenson, who played George Berger in last year’s concert in Central Park, reprised the role in The Public’s 2008 summer production of Hair. His boundless energy, powerful voice and infectious delivery explain why this performer is one to watch. It is also why he is in the fortunate position to be choosing between two 2009 Broadway transfers: Hair and Rock of Ages. Rumor has it that he has favored the 60s rock musical over the 80s one. I, for one, am happy with that choice.


#5. Sam Waterston
OK – I’m sure I’ll get slapped silly for saying this – but I am not a fan of Shakespeare. I have tried numerous times to appreciate his work, each time hoping that I will get caught up in his spell, but alas to no avail. This summer I once again made the attempt with Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Hamlet. I have to say that this was the most engaged I have ever been and that is largely due to Waterston’s interpretation of the meddlesome Polonius. The mixture of humor and pathos with which Waterston played the character has definitely proven him worthy of his espoused reputation among Shakespearean troupes. Who knows, perhaps I will give the bard another whirl if Waterston is at the helm.

Honorable Mentions
These “best of” lists are limited to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows of 2008. However, I wanted to venture beyond that parameter to cite two stellar performances: one from community theatre and one from college theatre.


Noel Desiato’s performance as Katherine Hepburn in Theatreworks New Milford’s Tea At Five was positively mesmerizing. Never before have I seen an actress embody a character more expertly or more believably than in this one-woman show about the legendary actress. Desiato proves that you don’t have to go to New York to see a gifted actress perform. I look forward to producing Tea At Five in 2009 at The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts, where Desiato will reprise her star-quality performance.

2008 also saw the performance of Caitlyn Caughell in Jeanine Tesori’s rarely produced gem Violet. In the titular role, Caughell was earthy and sincere with a voice that masterfully navigated the challenging score. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Tesori, who saw NYU’s production, has invited Caughell to sing at The Kennedy Center later this month. Without a doubt, Caughell is a force to be reckoned with, and it won’t be long before she takes up residence on the Great White Way.

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The Masterpiece That Is August: Osage County

** SPOILER ALERT **

In a year when the play is the crowned jewel of Broadway, I have found myself watching actors get their story on without having to break into song. Although, oddly enough, several of those actors did dance since four of the plays I saw had fairly impactful and deliberate music. Yesterday's "play with music" was this little ditty of a tale called August: Osage County. The Steppenwolf production of Tracy Letts' dysfunctional tour de force had an advance of $3M, has just extended its run, is guaranteed a bevy of Tony Awards and will most likely garner the Pulitzer.

Our rear mezzanine seats came complete with militant usher. Or as my husband likes to refer to her, the preshow. As she deftly sat her audience, she referred to the rear mezz as "her section." I am pretty sure this woman has guided me to my seat before. Not sure if she was an Imperial Theatre staple or not. I would have loved to see her wrestle the digital camera from the unsuspecting woman snapping a photo. "That is copyrighted material!" shouted our usher, gesturing toward the stage at the three-story set which, truth be told, is the real preshow.

The family tree in the Playbill suggests you might want to get familiar with the lay of the land before you head on over to the Weston house. After studying the house and the hierarchy, I felt eager with the anticipation of what lay ahead in the next 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Act 1. Scene 1. Patriarch Beverly Weston, portrayed by the playwright's father Dennis Letts, delivers a whiskey-soaked speech about the state of affairs in his Oklahoma home. For the quiet Johnna (Kimberly Guerrero), the poet/professor paints a brutally honest picture of life amidst his books and his bottle. That picture comes further to life in a brief interruption by his pill-popping wife, Violet (Deanna Dunegan). After Violet recoils and retreats to sleep off her drug-induced stupor, Beverly hires the girl as their housekeeper, or more appropriately, their caretaker.

Days later, Daddy Weston journeys into one of those sultry August nights, never to return. Enter the family, descending like vultures upon that house in the plains, with its window shades sealed with tape. First dysfunctional lot to arrive, Violet's belittling sister Mattie Fae (Rondi Reed), her immasculated husband Charlie (Francis Guinan) and the Weston's "lost child", Ivy (Sally Murphy), who is geographically predisposed to keeping an eye on her parents.

However, it is Barbara (Amy Morton), the eldest Weston daughter, whose arrival Violet awaits before emerging from her cave. With her pot smoking daughter (Madeleine Martin) and philandering husband (Jeff Perry) in tow, Barbara takes the reins of this careening apple cart while navigating her mother's venomous tongue. One the apple cart is settled, or passed out, She and her husband prepare for bed. After her husband dismisses her father's disappearance as a bender, she pronounces, "My father's dead!" and turns her back on her husband. Deep into that peaceful night's slumber, the household is stirred by the flashing lights of the sheriff's patrol car and the news of Beverly's death. Sheriff Gilbeau (Troy West), who happens to be a former beau of Barbara's, asks the family for someone to accompany him to the morgue to identify the body. Unable to awake Violet from her Darvon haze, a bereft and unwilling Barbara leaves with the sheriff.

Following Beverly's funeral, Karen (Mariann Mayberry), the youngest of Vi and Bev's offspring, helps her sister prep the table for the post-funeral meal. Barbara, thirsty for her wine, listens to her sister spout platitudes of self-help. Meanwhile, Violet attempts to coax the mousy Ivy into a beguiling dress. Under her mother's icy gaze, Ivy declares that she has found someone. We soon discover that this someone is, in fact, her first cousin, diminutively called Little Charlie (Ian Barford). The men, including Karen's lecherous fiance Steve (Brian Kerwin), return with the wine and everyone begins to drink.

Young Jean, who spends the majority of the play tuning herself out, immerses herself in Lon Cheney's Phantom of the Opera. The television, invisibly the down center focal point, serves the escape route for several characters throughout the evening. Karen's fiance, also attempting to allude the madness, bonds with Jean. He notices the lingering aroma of marijuana and promises the 14-year-old a Florida variety like none other she's tried. Later.

The family is called to dinner. And with alcohol and painkillers lubricating the wheels on the locomotive that is Violet Weston, we watch this train wreck of a family eat a meal. In real time. Haunted by the ghosts of her own past, Violet picks and claws at everyone until there are nothing but bloody caracasses at her feet. Like many meals with a kids table and ample amounts of alcohol, it does not end well. In fact, it ends with Barbara wrapping her fingers around her mother's throat.

Desperately trying to take charge of a situation more volatile than a tsunami, Barbara orders her family to scour the house for Violet's pills. Secret after secret comes tumbling out of drunken mouths while the women reminisce, the men play cards with Jean and Little Charles watches television. Suspicious that her son has become intimate with Ivy, Mattie Fae divulges a secret of her own to Barbara and then saddles her with the responsibility of telling her sister. Hours later, with the household fast asleep or passed out, Steve and Jean share a joint. Confident that Jean's judgment is significantly impaired, Steve asks her to show him her breasts. In a vain attempt to lure her more, he offers to show her his wares. He turns off the light and there is an uncomfortable moment of darkness that is quickly interrupted by Johnna and her buzzkilling frying pan.

The powder keg now exploded, the family begins to abandon ship, wagging their accusing fingers all the while. Ever quixotic, Karen states her intent to remain with her pedophiliac fiance because, after all, she will be honeymooning in Belize.

Before Bill leaves with Jean, in a rare tender moment, Barbara asks him if he is ever coming back. When he answers as she anticipates, she bemoans herself for being a failure. As a wife, a mother, a sister. But she says nothing about failing as a daughter. Just as with Beverly's omnipresence, Letts makes the most poignant statements with elements that are unseen or unheard.

In the final round, Vi delivers a one-two punch: you need to stop canoodling your brother and, yes, I knew. Ivy retreats in horror and despair, leaving Barbara alone with Vi. In a gasp eliciting moment, Violet's forked tongue lashes at Barbara, accusing her of being responsible for her father's death. Numbed by the realization that she has indeed become her mother, Barbara takes the keys from her purse, stumbles out onto the porch and leaves. Headed for anywhere but there.

In his play, Letts brings to life the adage that we either become our parents or marry them. For many, that metamorphasis is one that is gladly endured. For the Westons, however, it a downward spiral of devastation, with no bottom in sight.

There is not a weak link among this cast comprised mostly of Chicago-based actors. I did, however, recognize Kimberly Guerrero from the Cigar Store Indian episode of Seinfeld and I did see Madeleine Martin as the cross-bearing daughter from The Pillowman. However, she was silent in that production and in August I found her voice to be a little nasal and grating at times.

The men, who could have easily been swallowed up by the massiveness of the female characters, should not be dismissed as the lesser sex in this estrogen charged story. Each of them helps the women to navigate the tumultuous Weston waters with great aplomb. Most notable, the gentle delivery of Dennis Letts' lonely professor and Jeff Perry's resolved Bill.

While all of the women have their shining moments throughout the performance, without doubt the most scintillating performances come from Deanna Dunegan and Amy Morton. From the frenetic highs to the devastating lows, they attack these meaty roles with no fear. Because of their flawless performances, you leave the theatre filled with Violet and Barbara's pain and drained by their sorrows. The 2008 Tony Awards will find these ladies in a head-to-head battle for Best Actress in a Play. Dunegan will most likely walk away with the award but it will be a close race.

Subject matter notwithstanding, August: Osage County is riddled with classic one-line zingers, too numerous to single out a favorite. Thankfully, amidst all the tragedy, Letts gives you the opportunity to experience the greatest emotion to be felt in a theatre: laughter through tears. In fact, during each of the intermissions, the 9-year-old girl that sat behind us kept telling her parents how funny she thought it was. Yeah. I'll give you a moment to digest that...

The limited run engagement of August: Osage County closes on April 13, 2008. While this masterpiece is bound to live in perpetuity at regional and community theatres, I implore you to make every effort to experience this life-altering piece of theatre during its Broadway run.

But please, leave your 9-year-old at home.