Recent Reviews

I went to see this last night! Amazing. These four guys have such prime voices and the whole show was such a great, funny, sad, emotional ride!!

If you haven’t seen La Vie En Rose nor listened much to Edith Piaf’s music, then you’re in luck. There’s a new show in town, Piaf: Love Conquers All, that you’re bound to love. This one-woman musical revue delivers an episodic reminiscence of Edith’s life, punctuated by fourteen of her beautiful songs. It’s great entertainment. Get ready to be thrilled by an excellent performance, a lovely and inventive set, and a peek into the life of a fascinating woman.

On the other hand, this show brings us very little that the movie didn’t already offer. It seemed like I was reading a comic book version of it, a feeling the whimsical set seemed to underline. I didn’t hope that Emmerson would sing like Piaf or act like Cotillard, but I did want to see a departure from the movie. Unfortunately, the script falls well within the bounds already described by it. Emmerson's portrayal is deep, colorful, and powerful, and well worth the price of admission to see, hear, and feel. But at the same time, it's imprisoned in this revue, not of Piaf's life, but of La Vie En Rose.

On the other other hand, maybe you don’t care about all that stuff and just want to get your Piaf fix in an interesting new way. In that case, don't miss it. The show is excellent.

For those of you who were blown away by Shopping! The Musical – and by “blown away” I mean stripped of your soul – The New Century presents an interesting challenge. On the one hand, this showcase for playwright Paul Rudnick’s no-holds-barred humor seems to be held together with the flimsiest of themes. We are asked to accept that the answers to life’s most important questions are found in frivolous things like shopping. However, upon closer examination, the play’s most superficial ideas could be the key to its depth.

I knew this play would be funny because the movie version of Rudnick’s Jeffrey, released in 1995, still makes me laugh. I can quote many of its scenes by heart, and often do, especially when they involve gay interior designer Sterling or self-help guru Deborah. Jeffrey instilled in me a kind of campy courage where nothing was so terrifying that it couldn’t be tamed with the right quip. I learned to face gay problems with confidence and flair, from AIDS, to hate crimes, to bad taste.

The New Century offers an arsenal of wit, which the actors in this production wield with confidence and skill. Marie O’Donnell especially shines in the difficult task of introducing to us, not only her character, but Rudnick’s brand of humor – clever, tongue in cheek, and with no taboos. No subject is safe from passing through her lips, as you’ll soon see.

Seth Michael Anderson’s strong performance ties things together thematically. He plays a boy toy with unblinking faith in the power of looking good. Solving the cast’s existential problems with a shopping spree, he becomes the unexpected messiah of frivolousness.

Therein lies the challenge. How could frivolous things solve life’s problems? This is the question The New Century asks and, theoretically, provides the answer to.

The New Century, a fantastic West Coast Premiere by Paul Rudnick, brings refreshing new life to familiar clichés. Currently playing at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, this innocent comedy, that promotes itself as “a rollicking evening of inter-related stories about gay stereotypes,” goes far beyond its humble proposition.

The characters’ relentless commitment to their own eccentric personalities makes The New Century a joy to watch. We first meet Helene Nadler, a self-proclaimed “articulate and critical” Jewish mother from New Jersey, whose three children’s sexual preferences and practices force her to continue increasing her definition of acceptance. Played brilliantly by Marie O’Donnell, Helene funnels her competitive nature into outdoing the other accepting mothers, and tells herself in the mirror to “Go for the Gold!” by embracing her youngest son’s love for bondage and feces. Her monologue ends in a hilarious over-the-top moment as she whips her leather-clad slave son, shouting over and over “Who’s your MOTHER?”

Then comes Mr. Charles, a character proudly deemed “too gay,” who is airing a late-night TV series to promote himself and answer questions. Patrick Michael Dukeman’s character embraces every stereotypical aspect of himself (tea pouring, Nellie breaks, etc.) with such sincerity that we can’t help but root for him. Gracefully avoiding becoming a caricature, Mr. Charles delivers a string of unending one-liners that left our crowd gasping for breath from laughing so hard. His assistant and lover, Shane (played by Seth Michael Anderson), pops in and out of the TV show wearing less and less clothing, until only a carefully held Oscar statue keeps him “clothed”.

Finally, we meet Barbara Ellen Diggs (played by Deborah Rucker), the craft-obsessed Iowa woman with a child-like devotion to all things kitsch. She shows off her hilarious wares to us, from doll coverings for toilet paper rolls to a sweatshirt featuring a full colonial village scene, while she also struggles with the loss of her son to first, New York living, and then AIDS.

The second act gives us the satisfying opportunity to combine these extreme characters in a Manhattan maternity ward. The hilarity climbs as they all interact, each of their unique traits playing perfectly off one another. The play then takes a profound turn as they each attempt to grapple with the question of September 11. Ironically, it is the superficial character of Shane who stumbles upon a comforting way to reach resolution. Looking to his own values, he realizes that a Century 21 shopper “looking hot” at Ground Zero is the best way to embrace life. The characters then slowly find that as they embrace their own unique eccentricities (Helene’s love for Ralph Lauren bags, Barbara’s love for Cristo’s Central Park exhibit, etc), they too begin to come to terms with the tragedy.

Definitely don't miss the hilarious and endearing characters of The New Century!

Ungrateful Daughter is smart, funny, profound, entertaining, and deeply poignant. Lisa Marie Rollins presents her story of transracial adoption and growing up with a wise, compassionate eye that lets none of us off the hook and lets all of us off the hook, that taps into our universal quest for love, family, and identity. A wonderful evening of theater!