DC Theater Arts

Tag: Actors Temple Theatre

  • Old friends battle and bond over birthday brunch in ‘Madwomen of the West’ at Off-Broadway’s Actors Temple Theatre

    Old friends battle and bond over birthday brunch in ‘Madwomen of the West’ at Off-Broadway’s Actors Temple Theatre

    When Marilyn decides to throw a surprise birthday brunch for Claudia at Jules’ sleekly furnished $10 million Brentwood home, Zoey, a successful actress-turned-Yoga-advocate who’s been living in London, shows up unexpectedly, drinks flow and personalities clash, as the four long-time friends of a certain age share their opinions, open up about their personal problems (Marilyn’s is a doozy), battle and bond, in the Off-Broadway premiere of Sandra Tsing Loh’s Madwomen of the West, playing a limited engagement at Actors Temple Theatre. Directed with no-holds-barred fervor and laughs by Tom Caruso, the meta-theatrical femalecentric comedy stars the blockbuster cast of stage and screen favorites Caroline Aaron, Brooke Adams, Marilu Henner, and Melanie Mayron as the Baby-Boomer buddies since college some 40 years ago, who offer their insights into aging, men, the next generation, life, each other, and the never-ending challenges of being a woman.

    Caroline Aaron, Marilu Henner, Melanie Mayron, and Brooke Adams. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

    The show opens with Aaron directly addressing the audience with a story about her first introduction to the Actors Temple three decades ago by Shelley Winters (“yes that Shelley Winters”), which proves to be the first of many breaks by the cast through the fourth wall, as they shift back and forth between their roles and themselves. Loh’s characters even have many of the well-known attributes of the real-life women, including Henner’s “highly superior autobiographical memory” (HSAM) or hyperthymesia, a rare brain condition, diagnosed in less than 100 people worldwide, which enables her to remember everything that ever happened to her, with precise dates and details. They also make running jokes about the show’s low budget, supposedly (but intentionally) providing for minimal props and design elements (many of which they mime or ask us to envision). The result is a greater sense of the actresses’ personal connection to the story, its outspoken humor, and their audience of enthusiastic fans, who get all the inside jokes (except for the one about Brentwood that doesn’t hit in NYC but “would get a big laugh in LA”).

    Each woman is given her moment in the spotlight, beginning with Aaron’s riotously, unapologetically feisty Marilyn, a dedicated teacher and founder of a girls’ school, who doesn’t quite understand the dramatic rise in “the trans wave” or the current use of pronouns, is cheating on her pre-diabetic sugar cleanse and is smoking again, whose retired husband is around the house too much and is getting on her nerves, and who never even tries to hide her aversion and hilarious reactions to Henner’s vain Zoey (making a grand entrance down the center aisle and striking poses throughout the show), her long absence in London and lack of contact with the close-knit group, phony British accent, or sexualized conversation and behavior (with a tour-de-force sequence of eye-rolling, head-shaking, face-covering, and accent mocking) – all setting the stage for a disastrous reunion brunch but an uproarious comedy with masterful performances.

    Marilu Henner (center), with Melanie Mayron, Brooke Adams, and Caroline Aaron. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

    Mayron’s Claudia – a previously acclaimed but now struggling photographer who is “vaguely Jewish, vaguely lesbian . . . not the new kind, the old-fashioned kind,” hates surprise parties, is suffering from depression, and is being ghosted by her trans child JJ over an argument they had – shows up in her plaid flannel PJs and work boots and lets herself in with the key she has to Jules’ house, unaware of the planned celebration (cheaply decorated by Marilyn, though all we see is a colorful piñata hanging in the center of the room, due to the low props budget), then tries to leave once the tirades begin, but only makes it to the edge of the stage (thanks to Uber). And Brooke Adams’ Jules, called out by an angry Claudia as “passive aggressive and controlling,” is generally less forcefully combative, though she, like the others, has a couple of big reveals of her own that she’s kept beneath the surface (and in her water bottle), until she doesn’t.

    Brooke Adams and Melanie Mayron. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

    The ostensibly non-existent budget adds to the meta-theatrical gags, though the tastefully simple modern set by Christian Fleming, with a painted backdrop screen of palm trees and a rolling bar cart, efficiently set the scene in upscale Brentwood, with lighting by Pamela Kupper and sound effects by Max Silverman that surprise the cast. And the character-defining costumes did not come from their own closets, as we are told, but were well-designed by Sharon Feldstein and Erin Hirsch.

    Will the friendships survive? Will these women support each other when no one else in our still sexist and ageist world does? Find out for yourself at Actors Temple, in the highly entertaining, funny, and relevant Madwomen of the West.

    Running Time: Approximately one hour and 45 minutes, without intermission.

    Madwomen of the West plays through Saturday, December 31, 2023, at Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $48.50-130, including fees), call (212) 239-6200, or go online.

  • A lurid look at the seamy side of Hollywood and demise of four B-listers in ‘Ode to the Wasp Woman’ at Off-Broadway’s Actors Temple Theatre

    A lurid look at the seamy side of Hollywood and demise of four B-listers in ‘Ode to the Wasp Woman’ at Off-Broadway’s Actors Temple Theatre

    In Ode to the Wasp Woman, an original play with music now playing a limited Off-Broadway engagement at Actors Temple Theatre, writer and director Rider McDowell delves into the last 48 hours in the desperate lives and deaths of four fallen Hollywood B-listers from the 20th century. Presented as four one-act shorts, it’s a tabloid-style tale that exposes the sensational events leading to the demise of Our Gang’s Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, leading lady Susan Cabot of Roger Corman’s cult classic The Wasp Woman, TV’s Superman George Reeves, and notorious model-turned-actress-turned-prostitute Barbara Payton, who titled her autobiography I Am Not Ashamed.

    Douglas Everett Davis, Payton Georgina, Sean Young, and Josh Alscher. Photo by Maria Baranova.

    The production opens to the sound of organ music in a dimly lit funeral home. The lights suddenly go down, and four figures appear out of the darkness on stage, in a nod to film noir. One by one they take the spotlight and introduce themselves to us and how they met their tragic ends via voiceover. Then the four consecutive acts of their final days begin, each following the same format, from re-enactments of their troubled lives to their untimely deaths (Switzer and Cabot by murder, Reeves by suicide, and Payton from alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver), with each character performing one familiar expressive folk-rock song to the accompaniment of pre-recorded acoustic guitar music (e.g. Payton’s plaintive “Help Me Make It through the Night” – she doesn’t) and ending with their direct-address post-mortem introductions of the next doomed actor.

    Similar themes recur throughout their grim has-been stories, from the familial dysfunction and conflicted relationships with partners, friends, and colleagues, to the sexual abuse and alcoholism, blind ambition and ego, anger, profanity-filled diatribes, and recklessness that led them to their premature passing, in what can be seen as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of stardom and fleeting fame. Hooray for Hollywood.

    Sean Young. Photo by Maria Baranova.

    While the format of the show is consistent, the tone is not. It ranges from the aforementioned inspiration of tabloid journalism and mid-century noir to true-crime accounts and over-the-top portrayals that recall the stylings of the tell-all movie exposé Mommie Dearest, with laughable behavior that crosses into parody, including the ridiculous coaching of Cabot’s son Timmy by his mother to drop names and to tell an unfunny joke, and her insistence that he continue his injections to treat his dwarfism (in contrast to a serious go-back reflection on his birth and diagnosis).

    Josh Alscher. Photo by Maria Baranova.

    Under McDowell’s variable writing and direction (with active blocking that has the characters entering from the aisles and performing downstage direct-address monologues and songs), the cast – screen star Sean Young in her New York stage debut as the tenacious Cabot, Josh Alscher as the irresponsible, goofy, and heavy-drinking Switzer, Douglas Everett Davis as the suave and seemingly controlled Reeves, and Payton Georgiana as the self-destructive party-girl Payton, supported by Jonathan Hartman, Rita Louise, Anna Telfer, and David Wenzel appearing in multiple roles (as do Alscher and Davis) – interweaves one genre with the next, moving away from the program cover’s description of the show as “a new noir play” and frequently eliciting sardonic laughs from the audience.

    Payton Georgina, Douglas Everett Davis, and Jonathan Hartman. Photo by Maria Baranova.

    The artistic design features a set by Christian Fleming with movable furniture that changes with the scenes, vintage props by Mac and Piers McDowell that suit the times and situations (among them, a rotary-dial desk phone, countless bottles of alcohol, the murder weapons, and a poster of Payton’s 1951 B-movie Bride of the Gorilla), and dark lighting by Maarten Cornelis that evokes the noir tradition, then shifts to brightness with the differing moods and genres. Costumes by Pearl Gopalani and Montgomery Frazier (for Young) define the characters and the era, from Reeves’ debonair look to the déshabillé of Payton, and Bob ‘The Hammer’ Franco’s sound delivers the clear voiceovers and music (musical direction by Thayer Naples), as well as the loud gunshots and sirens.

    David Wenzel, Douglas Everett Davis, and Anna Telfer. Photo by Maria Baranova.

    Ode to the Wasp Woman is a mash-up of elements and, as noted in the program, the interests of its writer, which, for me, didn’t fully congeal into a satisfying whole or congruent noir tone, despite the inherently dark and disturbing quality of its theme.

    Running Time: Approximately one hour and 50 minutes, without intermission.

    Ode to the Wasp Woman plays through Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at the Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $70-90, including fees, with premium tickets available at $149), call (212) 2239-6200, or go online.

  • Lead actor Christopher Carver gives an inside look at the Off-Broadway world premiere of ‘Our Town . . . but Wilder’ at Actors Temple Theatre

    Lead actor Christopher Carver gives an inside look at the Off-Broadway world premiere of ‘Our Town . . . but Wilder’ at Actors Temple Theatre

    The world premiere of Our Town . . . but Wilder began its Off-Broadway run at the Actors Temple Theatre on October 1, with an opening night set for Sunday, October 16. Written and directed by Richard Krevolin, the comedy centers on a 1980s high-school production of Thornton Wilder’s renowned 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town, which goes terribly wrong. Set in the fictional town of Irrelevant, Connecticut, the story follows a sexually confused theater kid named Bentley Cramer, who is thrust into a position of power when he is cast as the Stage Manager. A series of comical mishaps ensue, leading him on a journey of self-discovery, as he learns about the fragile coexistence of beauty and intolerance, community and divisiveness, which often clash in small-town America.

    Christopher Carver (center) and the cast. Photo by Adam Smith.

    Krevolin has loved Our Town since he first watched the play on PBS as a child, becoming a theater lover and fan of Thornton Wilder’s plays while growing up in a small Connecticut town in the 1970s-80s. He wrote Our Town . . . But Wilder while in grad school in 1990, and promptly put it on the shelf, where it sat for the next 30 years. Then, just a few years ago, he returned to his high school for a ceremony in which he was named a member of the academic hall of fame. Days before the event there had been antisemitic and homophobic incidents at the school, which reminded him of the similar issues he had written about decades earlier. The fact that some things never seemed to change in small town America – “from the welcoming sense of knowing your neighbors to the puritanical intolerance of race, religion, and sexuality” – compelled him to share his now-33-year-old play.

    In the lead of the now-adult Stage Manager reflecting on his youth is Christopher Carver – actor, director, educator, and recent transplant from LA to NYC, whose many stage and screen credits include a recurring role on NBC’s American Dreams, co-starring in David E. Kelly’s Ally McBeal, shows with California’s acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse and The Globe, and a touring production of Psycho the Musical, which received a BroadwayWorld Award.

    Chris spoke with me during previews about the show, his role in it, and their relevance in our current time.

    Christopher Carver. Photo courtesy of the artist.

    What is it about Wilder, and Our Town in particular, that is so universal and adaptable for now?

    Chris: I think it’s the theme of the lack of change. There are a lot of parallels between the time of the original and now, with our new version shining a spotlight on our era of divisiveness and trying to bring some unity to our country.

    How does it feel to be playing a high-school student? What do you find most relatable about your character and his experience?

    I’m the elder, looking back on my younger self in high school (played by two other actors, Ben Elias and Scotty Kall). The journey of his life is very similar to mine; it’s about exploration and coming out of the closet, going through the ‘80s and ‘90s, when I also grew up, with a positive reflective eye. Not focusing on the pain and anguish, but seeing the joy that came out of it, has been nice.

    What is the advantage of using comedy to deliver a serious message?

    I believe that’s how the audience relates best, and how you get through the fire wall, especially if it hits in a hard place. Sometimes it takes a little longer to register through humor, but it’s good to let it get into their subconscious and then laugh about it.

    Christopher Carver (right) and the cast. Photo by Adam Smith.

    What are you enjoying most about your Off-Broadway debut at Actors Temple Theatre?

    I love this cast! It’s the 107th show I’ve done throughout my career, and it’s the most welcoming and supportive I’ve ever worked with – which might be the fact that it’s New York. There are no egos involved, everyone has been so nice and generous with each other, and I’m loving that. I also want to mention how wonderful it has been to work with the playwright/director Richard Krevolin. Because this is an original piece and a world premiere, there has been a collaborative process, of him working with the cast to make some changes, to ensure the best possible production. He’s been very accepting and open to our ideas.

    What do you hope the audience takes away from the show?

    The feeling of hope that we can change and there are things we can do to make our country better; a call to arms to rise up and have people love each other!

    Many thanks, Chris, for sharing your perspective on this reimagining of an American classic and its significance for today. I look forward to seeing it.  

    Running Time: Approximately 95 minutes, without intermission.

    Our Town . . . but Wilder plays through Monday, November 14, 2022, at Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $68, plus fees), call (212) 239-6200, or go online. Everyone must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination and a photo ID to enter the building.