OK, first of all a HUGE thank you to failes_place for the extra ticket....
Just came home from seeing Michael Arden's "Easter Rising" twice tonight. (All the cool BARE kids were staying, and I was so shell-shocked from the 7pm show that staying wasn't a hard decision).
"Easter Rising" is a musical (that runs just under 100 minutes) about four people in a moment of desparation. Caleb (Stephen Pasquale) has recently found out that he's dying of cancer, and has just a few weeks to live. His first reaction is not to tell his fiancee, April (the divine Kerry Butler), but to writea letter to his ex-boyfriend, Andrew (RENT's Colin Hanlon) that simply states, "I'm dying."
The thing is, Caleb's been writing unanswered letters to Andrew for twenty years, in which time the latter has spent several years married to a woman, and produced a son, John, now seventeen. Nevertheless, this letter, Andrew answers, forcing his son (Michael Alden himself!) to spend his senior Spring Break drive from Ohio to Caleb's home in Plano, Texas, intent on creating some sort of relationship with the dying man. Long story short, April isn't particularly surprised by the visit, but is devastated by the news of Caleb's illness. April's not stupid; she's perfectly fine with "the boyfriend", as long as she gets a child out of the relationship. She lives and breathes for the chance to be loved, unconditionally. It doesn't happen here.
Intent on having his death his own way, Caleb forces the foresome into the pickup truck, bound for the Gulf of Mexico, where Caleb and Andrew once spent time together. April's never seen the ocean, and John just wants to get the hell out of there. "They keep having their chatharses in front of me," he deadpans. Predictably, the car blows a flat tire, forcing some unpredictable combinations of characters to deal with one another.
"Easter Rising" is about four people who are running out of time. The plot is deceptively simple, and upon second viewing, prompts more questions than it answers. Why did Andrew leave, twenty years ago? Why did both men choose to be with women? Why the sixty-seven unanswered letters? How strong is love? The audience is put in the place of the seventeen-year old boy, catching snippets of the past, learning the lessons of life along with the characters. But it isn't all DRAMA.
Arden, as the young man, is hilarious. A HUGE change from the seventeen year old Peter in BARE, John is both hyper and witty, in part due to the Celexa he's taking for "depression". Smart and endearing, Arden's John is the cranky prisoner of his "gay dad", played with both humor and compassion. "The Driving Lesson", "Easter Rising"'s introduction to the father-son team, is comedy of truly master proportions, mostly due to Arden's quick timing and innate sense of fun and self. Equally poignant is Arden's ability to listen as a character, as expressed in Caleb's "This is Your Life" towards the end of the show.
Colin Hanlon, as Andrew, is both likeable and a little "****ed up", as his son points out. You desperately want to like the man who laughs off even the most serious of situations, and yet, Hanlon expertly expresses the fact that this man hasn't particularly done his job in the past, as a father, lover or friend. Andrew's breakthrough number, "Not Afraid", comes earlier than you'd expect, and so there's a little trouble on the follow through, as he's got to uphold this character change for over half the show. Hanlon's a good study, though, and make some incredible choices in tone intention.
Kerry Butler was born to play a woman like April. Many of April's "book lines" have the danger of being read with over-sincerity, but Butler does a fine job in keeping April real, and completely likeable. Her introduction song, "Filling Out A Form" is sung with such profound humanity that I believed her right away, even if I had trouble with her being so totally "okay" with her fiance's gay relationship a few numbers later. Butler was visibly moved in both shows by her co-stars, which was endearing, rather than distracting. There are many reasons to doubt April; she lets you know that she longs just for a baby, rather than her fiance's love, for one, but the strength of the character in April was really enhanced by Butler's vulnerable reading.
Finally, Stephen Pasquale does a nice job as Andrew, a man facing a very defined set of time. Almost unlikeable at the opening of the show, Pasquale REALLY sells "Coming Home", his "back with you" duet with Hanlon's Andrew, and SHINES in "This is Your Life", his fatherly advice to John. Pasquale's got a beautiful, solid voice that blended beautifully with both Butler and Hanlon in duet.
The book: Good to very good. Written by Fordham College senior Isaac Oliver, the father-son stuff is GREAT, especially the material delivered by Arden. Quick, witty, and touching, there are a few cliche scenes, but nothing to worry and fuss over.
The music: I'm so happy that I got the chance to talk to Michael Arden tonight, so that I can tell my kids that "I knew him when." This guy is going to be HUGE, as a composer, as an actor, as a man who hears music and creates music. Not a weak song in the whole bunch. If they're not immediately singable (and some ARE, including the penultimate "Take Me Back"), they demonstrate a level of complexity rarely seen in the theatre, let alone from a 22-year old. Many of the melodies are just gorgeous, and span a range from the very staccato "Driving Lesson" to the enlongated, plush "When You Fly". Versatile and powerful music.
All in all, an INCREDIBLE evenin.
JOHN LITHGOW
I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!
The very nice gentleman who just helped me at my cellphone company thanks to my drunken ass leaving my cellphone in the back of a cab. 
