AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

Well, Happy Thanksgiving. I figured that I'd use this beginning of "The Holiday Season" to talk about some holiday-time CD releases.

I'll start with the holiday music that I have enjoyed for ten years now - Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure year, in honor of the decade-long milestone, the two-disc set includes not only traditional holiday music and specialty material performed by current Broadway and off-Broadway companies, but also ten tracks from previous editions of the series. So, you can check out what the company of Hairspray offered up in 2003 – a delightfully demented version of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" featuring original cast members Harvey Fierstein, Dick Latessa, et. al., and the current company's marvelously beatnik-sounding rendition of "Santa's Comin' to Town."

The first track on this two-disc set is a real treat – "Cold Christmas," an original Christmas song from Elton John, performed by the company of his hit musical, Billy Elliot. For those who've had the chance to see "Billy," there's a wonderful sense of the characters from the musical celebrating the holidays with this slightly off-beat tune. For those who haven't experienced the show for themselves, this track, along with the cast recording allows you to get a sense of what the buzz is all about.

Other highlights of on this year's "Carols for a Cure" are the Xanadu company's disco-infused take on "Deck the Halls," here entitled "Hit the Deck." The company of Altar Boyz, which has been providing truly memorable original material for several years now, continues the tradition with "Shepherd's Fury," and the cast of In the Heights shines with a grandly contemporary take on "Los Peces en el Rio" (which can also be heard in a more traditional incarnation on the track from Antonio Banderas during his days in Nine).

"Carols for a Cure" not only gives you the chance to enjoy some truly unique holiday music, the discs are also raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, making this musical indulgence a good deed as well.

Now, since you won't be able to grab these online today, I figured I'd talk about one release that you can get online, and thus, have it playing as you're prepping your holiday meal and then, enjoying it: Kristin Chenoweth's A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas, a beautifully conceived disc that highlights the stage and screen star in a variety of moods.

The disc begins with a gently melancholy rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and then, shifts gears as Chenoweth offers up a Hawaiian-infused specialty number, "Christmas Island." During this one, you'll find that Chenoweth's effervescence is truly infectious. In the traditional "Do You Hear What I Hear?," the singer captures the sense of a child's wonder during the holiday season, and you'll experience the true emotional breadth of Chenoweth's soprano, both delicate and powerful in the disc's final track, "Sleep Well Little Children/What a Wonderful World." This disc, from Sony/BMG Masterworks will be welcome today and for the rest of the season. (Here's a link to the iTunes store for this one.)

A couple of other releases to bear in mind today and then, up until the 25th, come from DRG Records/b>. These two will take you back in time to the late 1950s and early 1960s. The first is "chestral Music of Christmas," which contains some 20 tracks of traditional music being performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The songs range from a majestic "O Tannenbaum" to a more playful "Deck the Hall," and highlight the work of two conductors/arrangers – Carmen Draggon and Alfred Newman. Another notable selection on this enjoyable orchestral disc – which sounds terrific in DRG's remastering – is "23rd Psalm" from Newman's David and Bathsheba.

DRG's second holiday reissue this year is The Story of Christmas "As sung and told by Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Roger Wagner Chorale." This disc might be a bit too traditional for some people's tastes, but there's no denying the power of Ford's rich baritone as it glides over songs like "Some Children See Him" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Alongside Ford's vocals with the chorale and the strong choral work in general, are passages from the Gospels.

Finally, for those who are not interested in partaking of holiday music even as we spiral into the season, let me suggest you taking a listen to (or quick purchase of) Philip Chaffin's gorgeous and richly diverse When the Wind Blows South. This sparkling new disc from PS Classics may make you wish you had some pecan pie to go alongside the pumpkin pie today and is a wonderful mix of classics and contemporary music. Chaffin's gentle vocals seem to caress Jerry Herman's lush melody for "Loving You," a song written for the movie version of Mame. The singer is equally adept at navigating the intricacies of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Is It Too Late?" from the little-known My Life With Albertine. Chaffin's terrifically playful with Burton Lane and Yip Harburg's "Old Devil Moon" and captures just the right of comedy and melancholy in "I Never Has Seen Snow," from Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's House of Flowers.

Chaffin's vocals are accompanied by a full orchestra, conducted by Sam Davis, and the arrangements from a variety of artists, grandly support the singer and I believe that this disc will find its way into listeners' CD players, iPods and hearts for some time to come. (Again, a quick iTunes link for your downloading convenience.)

I hope you have a very happy holiday!

---- Andy Propst

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The stakes are high and so is the level of performance in a Christmas-eve, winner-take-soul poker game with the devil in Connor McPherson’s The Seafarer which opens the season for Hartford’s TheaterWorks.

Shaky Harkin (Dean Nolen) lost a long-ago bet with Mr. Lockhart (a.k.a. the devil played by Allen McCullough) and now it’s time to pay up. Unknowingly involved in the life-and-death game are Shark’s overly dependent blind brother, Richard (Edmond Genets), his humorously inebriated friend Ivan (John Ahlen in a cork-popping performance), and Richard’s friend, Nicky (Chris Gene Bach), who also happens to be seeing Shark’s ex wife.

Much like the Old English poem for which it is named, The Seafarer deals with themes of exile, hardship and sorrow and a soul’s readiness to face death. Sharky, constantly reminded of his shortcomings by Richard, is trying to stay off the bottle while the others drink to drown the despair brought on by personal losses. The Faustian plot and depressing state of the characters’ lives might prove too oppressive if not for the hope and humor infused in McPherson’s script and for Henry Wishcamper’s brisk pace and direction which allows the actors room to develop the Irish mates into more than stereotypes.

Lockhart evolves from a harmless “guy next door,” persona into a tormenting teeth-gnashing demon who can’t wait to devour his pray and take him to a hell. At the same time, he also shows regret at not being able to return to heaven -- a complicated characterization skillfully executed by McCullough. Richard, with his demoralizing comments and unmasked glee over his brother’s fall off the wagon, seems more like the devil than Lockhart at times, but Genest manages to keep him from becoming totally unsympathetic. Genebach provides some stability for the quirkiness of the other characters and Nolen aptly depicts Sharky’s emotions from condemnation to redemption.

Ahlin already has us laughing at Ivan’s every move and word, so when he provides a life-saving twist for Sharky at the end of the game, we want to pat him on the back and offer him an ale.

Adrian W. Jones’ set, Anne Kenney’s costumes and lighting and sound design by Matthew Richards and Bart Fasbender successfully covey the squalor and dismal lives of the men.

---- Lauren Yarger

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The Seafarer plays at City Arts on Pearl (233 Pearl Street, Hartford) through Dec. 21. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets: General admission $37 for weeknights and matinees; $47 for Friday and Saturday evenings; center reserved seats $11 extra; and college student rush tickets $11 can be purchased by calling (860) 527-7838 or by visiting www.theaterworkshartford.org.

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AmericanTheaterWeb

Review - White Christmas - Charm That's a Little Chilly

New York Times

Just Like the Ones You Used to Know: Song, Dance and Fluffy White Endings
You’d have to be in a desperately, even pathologically nostalgic mood to derive much joy from the stage retread of “White Christmas.”

New York Daily News

No business like snow business
After playing in other U.S. cities for the past four years, "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" has finally made it to New York. As Broadway musicals go, it's a little creaky. But as a holiday fun, it's light and bright and boasts some great numbers.

amNY

Theater Review of White Christmas
As far as holiday entertainment goes, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” easily wins our vote for the most professional and crowd-pleasing show in an overstuffed genre that includes “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” “Wintuk,” “A Christmas Carol,” “The Nutcracker” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Newsday

'White Christmas': Straightforward and old-fashioned, without any added tinsel

New York Post

Oh,it's all 'White'
Let it be noted for the record that I'm a sucker for Christmas. The ending of "Miracle on 34th Street" still makes me tear up, and don't even get me started on Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." So it's more than a little disappointing that the Broadway production of "Irving...

New York Journal-News

"White Christmas"? Humbug
"Irving Berlin's White Christmas" is a road show that could travel in an SUV - mostly flat sets with a "Lawrence Welk Show" feeling....

Hartford Courant

"Irving Berlin's White Christmas" Remains A Classic

Bergen Record

Light 'White Christmas'

Associated Press

Bland 'White Christmas' Dilutes Its Holiday Cheer

Bloomberg.com

Berlin's `Christmas' Brings Old Tunes, Great Sets to Broadway: John Simon
Folks nostalgic for old-time movie musicals may want to see “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” at the Marquis Theatre in Times Square.

Variety

Review: Irving Berlin's White Christmas
There hasn't been this much tap-dancing on a Broadway stage since "42nd Street." Yet despite its relentless effervescence, "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" is most alive in its gentler, more melancholy moments -- few as there are. Arriving in New York after multiple regional stops in the past four seasons, and aiming to establish itself as an annual holiday engagement, this somewhat mechanical show feels like a road production ...

TheaterMania

Review: Irving Berlin's White Christmas
The stage adaptation of the 1954 film is merry and bright.

Talkin' Broadway

Review: Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Never let it be said that Santa doesn’t work in mysterious ways. Look what he’s already dropped down the chimney: Blackouts! Scenes-in-one! Full-stage sets! A 24-piece orchestra! Short of world peace, it’s hard to imagine a more bountiful fulfillment of your grandest yuletide wishes than Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, which just opened at the Marquis: a tuneful, two-and-a-half-hour vacation to 1954. . . .

Depending on how you look at it, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a stage musical version of the 1954 Paramount Pictures movie, has either had one of the most extensive out-of-town tryouts in the history of American commercial theater, or it's part of one of the most shrewdly developed theatrical properties ever. "White Christmas" began its life in 2000 as part of the summer season at the famed MUNY in St. Louis. Since then, the musical, which features a book by David Ives and Paul Drake, has not only received major productions in San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles, which have been replicated for the Broadway incarnation, but it has also been seen in regional productions, such as the one currently playing in Kentucky at the Derby Dinner Playhouse. Clearly, the process of bringing a musical version of a popular movie has changed with "White Christmas:" no longer is the imprimatur of a show having debuted on Broadway necessary, it's all about brand recognition.

Unfortunately, the brand that's found in "White Christmas" doesn't feel all that "merry and bright" – to borrow from Irving Berlin lyrics of the title song. In fact, despite Berlin's always glorious songs, some first-rate orchestrations from Larry Blank and beyond terrific dance arrangements from Bruce Pomahac, and several incredibly appealing performances, "White Christmas" has the decided feel of a snowfall that's been on the ground for a day or two.

Ives and Drake's book more or less charts the central story of the movie. Bob Wallace (Stephen Bogardus) and Phil Davis (Jeffry Denman), a famed song and dance team who first got to know each other while serving during World War II together, find themselves at a Vermont Inn that's run by their former commanding officer, General Henry "Hank" Waverly (a wonderfully curmudgeonly, yet kindly, Charles Dean). Waverly's ability to lead troops hasn't translated well to his civilian life, and he and the inn are in financial trouble. Bob and Phil decide to help their old friend out by staging the pre-Broadway tryout of their new revue at the inn. At the guys' side are Betty (Kerry O'Malley) and Judy (Meredith Patterson), a sister song-and-dance team, whom the guys are planning on including in the revue. Of course, each girl becomes a romantic interest for one of the guys, and without fail, there are romantic complications for the pairings before" White Christmas" comes to its requisite happy ending.

It's charming old-fashioned stuff, but in this lumbering production, directed by Walter Bobbie, it feels sort of slushy. For the most part, Bobbie's staging returns to the tradition of performing scenes in front of the curtain while Anna Louizos' occasionally eye-popping sets – including the environment for the musical's grand finale – are changed. This practice makes the show feel even more like a throw-back to a previous era, when technology was not pre-eminent in stagecraft, but the creatives want to have things both ways, as indicated by the snow-machines that allow a "real snowfall" that cascades down on the audience at the end of the show. What one senses about the design choices is that they have been made to ensure that the show can be moved quickly from venue to venue on a rigorous tour schedule.

Despite the sluggish staging, audiences find themselves transported by "White Christmas" from time to time. Randy Skinner's choreography, particularly during the act two opener "I Love a Piano" – a song not from the movie, but rather Berlin's 1915 Broadway show, Stop! Look Listen!. Here, the large company performs some pretty nifty tap steps while the orchestra serves up some fabulous ragtime sounds. Equally delightful is a dream-like pas de deux for Phil and Judy after they've just met: fog rolls across the stage as they sing and dance to "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing."

Other moments that shine include just about any that involve Martha (Susan Mansur), the Eve Arden-like character who basically runs the Vermont Inn. Mansur belts out "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" with aplomb, and her comic timing as the perpetually single, wiseacre broad is impreccable. Amusing turns also come from Anne Horak and Katherine Tokarz, who play a couple of dumb chorus girls who Phil's been toying with, and from Peter Reardon, another one of the guys' army buddies, who's now a television producer. Reardon seems to channel another character (or performance) from the world of holiday-time filmdom, that of the perpetually opportunist Sam Wainright played by Frank Albertston in It's a Wonderful Life.

Denman and Patterson, who created the roles of Phil and Judy when "White Christmas" debuted in California, have settled into a natural groove as the pair that has no problem with their mutual attraction. Unfortunately Bogardus and O'Malley don't always convince as the vaguely misanthropic Bob and Betty who're fated for one another. They both are simply too winning and warm, and often it seems as if these two are simply delivering the performances that are required in this show that has arrived on Broadway already fully prepared, and, pardon the expression, frozen.

---- Andy Propst

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Irving Berlin's White Christmas plays at the Marriott Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway) through January 4. Performances schedule varies. Tickets ($66.50 - $121.50) can be purchased by calling 212-307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. A complete performance schedule is available her and at www.WhiteChristmasBroadwsay.com.

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ADDITION - 11/21/08 - 1:52PM EST

ny1

NY1 Theater Review: "Dividing The Estate"

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New York Times

Inherit the Windfall
The problems confronting the sprawling, anxious, compulsively talky Texan clan of 1987 in “Dividing the Estate” will be familiar to many American families at the moment.

New York Daily News

'Dividing the Estate' is hysterical
Ham, anyone? It's on the dinner table and at center stage in Horton Foote's "Dividing the Estate," a lighthearted look at a fractious family facing financial straits.

amNY

Theater Review of Dividing the Estate
No one would suspect 92-year-old Horton Foote, a gentle playwright whose 60 tenderhearted plays include “A Young Man from Atlanta” and “The Trip to Bountiful,” of writing a vigorous piece of political theater.

New York Post

'Estate' wealth of old-fashioned charm
Horton Foote's "Dividing the Estate" - about a rapacious Southern family tangling over finances - contains echoes of ...

Hartford Courant

New York Stage: Horton Foote's 'Dividing The Estate'

Bergen Record

Theater review: Dividing the Estate
In the recent presidential campaign, one candidate kept extolling the virtues of small towns, citing them as nurturing the best of America's values. She's never seen a Horton Foote play, I betcha.

Associated Press

Greed gets the best of those 'Dividing the Estate'
Nothing concentrates the mind like money — or lack of it. And money has provided the plot for more than a few plays, one good example being "Dividing the Estate," Horton Foote's hilariously perceptive take on what good old-fashioned greed does to one cash-strapped Texas family.

USA Today

'Dividing the Estate' is split between charming, boring

Bloomberg.com

Feuding Texans, Tightwad Ashley Tangle in ‘Estate’: John Simon

Wall Street Journal

'Road' to Nowhere
Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman got their wish: "Road Show" finally made it to New York. But the much-revised musical isn't up to the high standards of its creators.
[includes 'Dividing the Estate' review]

Variety

Review: Dividing the Estate
This sweetly satirical comedy about a Texas family squaring off over their inheritance could almost be unfolding in 2008, but Horton Foote wrote the play 20 years ago and set it against the economic turmoil of the late '80s

Back Stage

Dividing the Estate reviewed by David Sheward
Though it was written almost 20 years ago and is set in 1987, Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate feels as if it could be happening right now.

TheaterMania

Review: Dividing the Estate
Horton Foote's dark comedy about family members at their most venal makes a successful transfer to Broadway.

Talkin' Broadway

Review: Dividing the Estate
In Dividing the Estate, the play by Horton Foote that Lincoln Center Theater is presenting at the Booth, the Gordon family of Harrison, Texas, and their family home for generations are disintegrating as the land surrounding them is consumed by death and taxes. How can one elegant (but crumbling) old manse and its less-than-elegant (and crumbling) inhabitants maintain their identity and propriety under constant siege from Big Industry and economic neglect? . . .