Broadway Bob's Theater Reviews
Anna Christie at St. Ann’s Warehouse
Anna Christie written by Eugene O’Neil for the most part is good. The acting by Brian D’Arcy James and Tom Sturridge is excellent; as is Mare Winningham, although she is not on stage for very long in this two hour-thirty minute show.
Director Thomas Kail (Sweeney Todd) brings a different twist to the play for several reasons: Mat Burke (Sturridge) is a more violent person then originally written by O’Neil; Anna (Michelle Williams) is older than the book originally had Anna portrayed. These two big differences never hurt the show, in fact Burke is more interesting here than the past “Anna Christie” plays that have been produced.
He is a religious man from Ireland, however, he is quick to anger when he does not see eye-to-eye with a situation. The original Burke is a brawny man who has a gentile soul. This Burke keeps the audience on edge. We never know what he is going to do next, and that is part of the allure of this “Christie”. Williams as an older Anna never gets it right as the tough talking, tough minded woman who only cares what she thinks about herself. Williams accent goes in and out, where James and Sturridge keep their accents solid throughout the performance.
In a three quarter round stage, Kail is able to keep the action moving throughout the entire performance. The sets by Jones and Banakis are interesting and very much part of the show. The set s are never overbearing and always relevant to the stories action.
So too is the lighting by Natasha Katz. The lighting is never overbearing but is supportive to both the actors and the sets. I would have chosen different colors at times but Katz does an admirable job here.
Although “Anna Christie” is not as much produced as some of O’Neil’s other works: “The Iceman Cometh” and “Long Day’s Journey into Night”; “Anna Christie” is as deep and dark as many of his other works like: “A Moon For The Misbegotten” and “Desire Under The Elms”. Much like Tennessee Williams, O’Neil has an uncanny knack for writing about the downtrodden to a point it almost seems absurd.
Ulysses at The Public Theater
Elevator Repair Services Theater Company in association with The Public Theater put forth a unique play about the James Joyce book, "Ulysses". Set as a staged reading (DOTS), the actors move about the baron stage with ease. Directed by John Collins with co-direction by Scott Shepard, the story and the comedic "business" for the most part are really good. Not that "Ulysses" doesn't have some problems, the play for the most part is enjoyable. At 2:30 minutes, the direction is tested with the length of this play.
The cast has seven actors, four of them are really good, three are miscast. As we follow this memory book, Leopold Bloom (Vin Knight) is sensational as both Bloom and Mr. Deasy. The banter between he and Scott Shepard work well. Shepard plays Buck Mulligan, Blazes Boylan and three other roles in this show. The two are instrumental in the play as the action focuses a lot on them. As Joyce wrote it, the two play chess with one another. In various roles they compete for love, security and a solid place in society.
"Ulysses" as a book has been debated since it was written. Half way through this monmouth book, Joyce gives us an interpreter, a person who joins the story. Like Elevator Repair Services, Joyce had a knack for taking a story and tossing it around. The theater company did exactly the same thing with their production of "Measure for Measure" last season. The company chooses their productions carefully and they do them well. While this show was a bit to long (10 minutes in the first act, about the same in the second), it covers a lot of the book fairly quickly.
The sound (Ben Williams), the projection Matthew Deinhart) and its engineering (Jason Sebastian) make this show more intriguing than the actual writing. The projections and sound light the show much like a carnival. The two draw the audience into the show; their creativity is a show within a show!
As Molly Bloom and seven other characters, Maggie Hoffman was a stand out all night, as was Stephanie Weeks as Martha and seven other parts (all the actors play multiple roles). I thought the other three actors were miscast. Their language and cadence made it feel that we were seeing a different show when they spoke. The costumes, like the various actors were a tale of two shows (Enver Chakartash). Where some of the costumes were excellent, especially Leopold Bloom's, some were lazy. I thought that having a modern watch on one of the actors lacked thought; others had modern cloths on. The costumes should have been in the era, instead some were and some were not.
"Ulysses" is playing at The Public and it is worth seeing. Elevator puts on a different kind of play, they are usually fun to watch and different from the norm.