#1
Posted: 3/26/08 at 11:47pm
The New Century (200
By Paul Rudnick
** 1/2
Linda Lavin, Peter Bartlett, Jayne Houdyshell, Mike Doyle, Christy Pusz
Dir. Nicholas Martin
A fun, energetic, and uneven evening as we follow three people through their little scenes about hope, despair, life and love. First there is Mrs. Helene Nadler, played by the marvelous Linda Lavin who is talking at a GLBT seminar about how she is the “greatest mother on Earth.” She tells the story about her three children, one is a lesbian, the other is a trans gendered lesbian, and her youngest is a gay man who is into leather and other unusual activities. She tries to explain how she deals with her circumstances and how she manages to live her daily life. She loves her children but wants to know what happened to cause her children to be in her mind “different”. The second scene is Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach, where Mr. Charles (Peter Bartlett) is “too gay” for his own good and has his own public access show at four in the morning down in Florida. He and his companion Shane, a beefy, dumb young man, answer questions about what it means to be gay. The third scene deals with Ms. Barbara Ellen Diggs, a mother who enjoys making crafts, it is her art, that is how she expresses herself and through it all makes it through the day despite her son dying of aids. The four segment finds us in Manhattan where Mr. Charles, Ms. Nadler and Ms. Diggs meet up by chance and they rant and chat about their life and where they are heading.
Overall it is a fun, and often times hilarious evening at the theatre. Paul Rudnick’s work can hit home at times, but many times it falls a bit flat. Linda Lavin gets the best scene as her timing is perfect with the jokes that many people can relate too. Jayne Houdyshell is warm and touching as the artsy-craftsy person who finds joy in making pot holders and toilet paper wraps. When she begins to discuss her son and him dying from AIDS the emotions raging from her character are flawless and the scene, while still comic, becomes extremely touching. Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach is a hilarious story, but here it is a bit low energy and the comic timing is off, but still Peter Bartlett is perfectly cast as the flamboyant Mr. Charles and Mike Doyle is very good looking as Shane, both in and out of his clothes. The finale was the biggest disappointment as it leaves the audience hanging with no ending to the whole story. No reason as to why everyone is in the same place. There are some awful speeches about 9/11 that really make no sense and then the actors leave the stage and you scratch your head wondering “why didn’t they just have another different scene, or at least something with more punch to it.” But still, the show is very funny, needs some tuning up, and it needs some work on the pacing. The show is very witty at times and very poignant too and will make for a lovely evening, especially in the company of Lavin and Houdyshell!
© 2008
B. Schneider
By Paul Rudnick
** 1/2
Linda Lavin, Peter Bartlett, Jayne Houdyshell, Mike Doyle, Christy Pusz
Dir. Nicholas Martin
A fun, energetic, and uneven evening as we follow three people through their little scenes about hope, despair, life and love. First there is Mrs. Helene Nadler, played by the marvelous Linda Lavin who is talking at a GLBT seminar about how she is the “greatest mother on Earth.” She tells the story about her three children, one is a lesbian, the other is a trans gendered lesbian, and her youngest is a gay man who is into leather and other unusual activities. She tries to explain how she deals with her circumstances and how she manages to live her daily life. She loves her children but wants to know what happened to cause her children to be in her mind “different”. The second scene is Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach, where Mr. Charles (Peter Bartlett) is “too gay” for his own good and has his own public access show at four in the morning down in Florida. He and his companion Shane, a beefy, dumb young man, answer questions about what it means to be gay. The third scene deals with Ms. Barbara Ellen Diggs, a mother who enjoys making crafts, it is her art, that is how she expresses herself and through it all makes it through the day despite her son dying of aids. The four segment finds us in Manhattan where Mr. Charles, Ms. Nadler and Ms. Diggs meet up by chance and they rant and chat about their life and where they are heading.
Overall it is a fun, and often times hilarious evening at the theatre. Paul Rudnick’s work can hit home at times, but many times it falls a bit flat. Linda Lavin gets the best scene as her timing is perfect with the jokes that many people can relate too. Jayne Houdyshell is warm and touching as the artsy-craftsy person who finds joy in making pot holders and toilet paper wraps. When she begins to discuss her son and him dying from AIDS the emotions raging from her character are flawless and the scene, while still comic, becomes extremely touching. Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach is a hilarious story, but here it is a bit low energy and the comic timing is off, but still Peter Bartlett is perfectly cast as the flamboyant Mr. Charles and Mike Doyle is very good looking as Shane, both in and out of his clothes. The finale was the biggest disappointment as it leaves the audience hanging with no ending to the whole story. No reason as to why everyone is in the same place. There are some awful speeches about 9/11 that really make no sense and then the actors leave the stage and you scratch your head wondering “why didn’t they just have another different scene, or at least something with more punch to it.” But still, the show is very funny, needs some tuning up, and it needs some work on the pacing. The show is very witty at times and very poignant too and will make for a lovely evening, especially in the company of Lavin and Houdyshell!
© 2008
B. Schneider
"Love the Art in Yourself. Not Yourself in the Art." -- Stanislavski
