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NEW YORK CABARETS, SHOWS AND BROADWAY THEATRE EASON
NEW YORK, NEW YORK- Seven new musicals, a Tennessee Williams mini-festival, even a couple of new plays and a parade of stars -- a busy second half of the theatre season holds the possibility that spring could push the Broadway box office to levels not seen since before Sept. 11. That's the cheerful prognosis of Jed Bernstein, head of the League of American Theatres and Producers, Broadway's official trade organization. What all the activity has done is produce a theatre-booking jam -- with every one of Broadway's more than 30 playhouses filled or awaiting new productions. The situation has left the season's most-praised play, John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, without a theatre to make the transfer from off-Broadway to Broadway. Doubt, set in the Bronx in 1964, stars Cherry Jones as an authoritarian nun who suspects a priest (Brian O'Byrne) of having more than a passing interest in a young male student in the Catholic school she oversees. The nun's certainty is at the centre of the play, which needs to arrive on Broadway by May 4 to be eligible for the 2005 Tony Awards. There was a scarcity of new musicals on Broadway last fall. Only Brooklyn The Musical showed up -- along with two revivals, Pacific Overtures and La Cage aux Folles. Things have changed. Now seven -- plus one musical revival -- will arrive by the Tony cutoff. Even January, usually a bleak month for Broadway openings, will have two song-dance offerings. First up, Little Women, based on Louisa May Alcott's sturdy tale of the March family, particularly its daughters. There have been three major film versions, featuring Katharine Hepburn (1933), June Allyson (1949) and Winona Ryder (1994) as Alcott's spirited heroine, Jo March -- not to mention an opera and several TV versions. Sutton Foster, a Tony winner for her portrayal of the ultimate ambitious flapper in Thoroughly Modern Millie, stars in the Broadway incarnation, at the Virginia Theatre. Maureen McGovern co-stars as Marmee in this production, which has a book by Allan Knee (Finding Neverland), music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Music of the surfing variety can be found in Good Vibrations, which brings the sounds of the Beach Boys to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The story, supplied by Richard Dresser, follows a group of teenagers from New England who head to the sands of Southern California in search of sun and fun. PONZI MAN PREMIERED AT THE CONNELLY THEATER
Photo: Mr. Gary Morgenstein. The play centrifuges a dual theatrical power: The performance of the cast and the brilliance of its director, Emily Tetzlaff who added an ultra dimension to the definition of contemporary American theater. She enrobed, freed and froze the play with new theatrical visions and human momentum.
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Tetzlaff captured the human psyche on stage using her performers as human destinations for the sequence of the play. She positioned them in center stage to enhance the storyline and froze them in time and space in stage right and stage left to add esthetical intellectualism and human depth to their inner tumults. Thus, creating a sequence of dramatic tableaux rarely seen on stage in New York. And she did succeed. The play evolves and rotates around family problems, disharmonized relationships, fate, determination, people losing their jobs, a son who is to be sent to jail for shady deals, a father who failed to watch over his son who committed white color crimes, and a mother who was caught in the middle. A fascinating, heart-felt story which metamorphosed in utmost sincerity through remarkable performances by an outstanding cast consisting of Steven Savona, Marlene Wallace, Ruth Jaffe, Jane Purcell Dashow, Ken Dashow, Ralph Cole, Jr. and Steven Savona.
PONZI MAN is not an extravagant production with a large cast, imposing orchestration or impressive theatrical sceneries in the tradition of glitzy Broadway. But, it is larger than life and splendid at so many levels, thanks to the outstanding performances of the cast, and the creativity of the director. Ruth Jaffe who played Hillary Rosen was formidable. The role she admirably played was tailored made for her. Steven Savona was powerful, colorful and energetic. His presence on stage was dramatically felt . His performance was excellent. Marlene Wallace was a major power of the play. Sensitive, assured and overwhelmingly talented, Wallace dominated all her scenes. She delivered a superb tragicomic performance. Jane Purcell Dashow's charisma, personality and vivacity shined through the fluidity of her impeccable performance. And the ravishing and hilarious Ralph Cole, Jr. added tons of joy, fun and magic to the play. The audience just loved him. His presence was needed. He carried the role with unsurpassed originality and delightful panache. The genius of Emily Tetzlaff created this aura of magic, joyful melancholy and sad happiness that united and alienated the members of the Rosen family. Tetzlaff delivered a superb product. Morgenstein's style is powerful in its bleeding truth and delightful in its dramatic flair. PONZI MAN is a successful and a meaningful theatrical accomplishment. Category: Drama in 2 acts. Synopsis: "The story explores the explosive issue of white collar crime and its life altering effects on a family. This upper class Jewish family implodes when the fair-haired son, entrusted with the business, brings them to financial and emotional ruin. Caught in a vortex among her strong-willed daughters, ageing husband and desperate son, the powerful matriarch fights to save her family, as well as their powerful real estate development company, as it all unravels, secret by dirty secret, on Thanksgiving night." Presented by Woman Seeking…’s Artistic and Creative Directors, Christine Mosere and Laurie Marvald.
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New Yorkers witnessed the premiere of
"PONZI MAN" a sweet-bitter family drama-play written by Gary
Morgenstein and directed by Emily Tetzlaff. 