#1
Posted: 12/5/07 at 6:01pm
I first read Shelley Fisher Fishkin's publication of Mark Twain's IS HE DEAD? a number of months ago and was utterly unimpressed. I couldn't get into it - it struck me as, well, very Mark Twain-y. The plot was simple.
Painter Jean-Francois Millet, deeply in debt and despair, realizes that the only way his work would sell is if he dies. And so, he hatches a plan with a few buddies to fool the world into thinking he has died - and poses as Millet's fictional sister, the Widow Daisy Tillou.
Fishkin, who has apparently been lobbying for a production since she discovered the 1898 text in the early 2000s, has finally gotten it. The farce, "adapted" by David Ives, directed by master farceur Michael Blakemore, and starring a veritible "who's who" of musical theater, is currently playing the Lyceum Theatre.
The plot is virtually unchanged, in fact, not changed at all. Norbert Leo Butz stars as Millet, surrounded by the likes of Jenn Gambatese as Marie, his love, John McMartin as Papa Leroux, her father, Byron Jennings as Andre, the money lender, Michael McGrath, as Agamemnon "Chicago" Buckner, Millet's co-conspiritor, and David Pittu in a host of cameos.
I'm not a fan of farce, never have been, never will be. I get the idea after the first 15 minutes. IS HE DEAD? is no different. I found myself laughing, but few belly laughs. Ives' script has slimmed the show from three to two acts and added a multitude of corny, bad jokes ("The wurst is yet to come," anyone?). Michael Blakemore is the master of farce, and he hits his stride in the second act. Perhaps the biggest problem is that there's just a bit too much set-up, which really kills most of the first hour.
It is the cast, however which makes the show. Norbert Leo Butz gives a master class in acting farce and turns in one of the strongest comedic performances I've seen all year. He loses himself within Daisy and it is brilliant. Jenn Gambatese is a strong physical comedienne, but uses that atrocious British accent, thereby making her role merely "good." John McMartin is always reliable and Byron Jennings, in "Chitty-Childcatcher" get-up, proves why he and Boyd Gaines are the two most versatile actors in New York.
Michael McGrath and David Pittu steal the show. I won't ruin it for anyone. Marylouise Burke and Patricia Connolly are very funny as the two widows.
Martin Pakledinaz' costumes are gorgeous, Peter J. Davison's set receives well-deserved entrance applause, and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting is perfect. The most entertaining part of the show, to me, at least, was the painting of Norbert - as Daisy.
If you're a fan of farce, this is the show for you. It's pure, clean, unadulterated fluff and the perfect alternative when Mary Poppins or The Little Mermaid has sold out. I, however, feel it will fall the same way as Journey's End. A play nobody's ever heard of, featuring a cast nobody's ever heard of, written by Mark Twain (that's sure to scare people away). Prove me wrong.
Painter Jean-Francois Millet, deeply in debt and despair, realizes that the only way his work would sell is if he dies. And so, he hatches a plan with a few buddies to fool the world into thinking he has died - and poses as Millet's fictional sister, the Widow Daisy Tillou.
Fishkin, who has apparently been lobbying for a production since she discovered the 1898 text in the early 2000s, has finally gotten it. The farce, "adapted" by David Ives, directed by master farceur Michael Blakemore, and starring a veritible "who's who" of musical theater, is currently playing the Lyceum Theatre.
The plot is virtually unchanged, in fact, not changed at all. Norbert Leo Butz stars as Millet, surrounded by the likes of Jenn Gambatese as Marie, his love, John McMartin as Papa Leroux, her father, Byron Jennings as Andre, the money lender, Michael McGrath, as Agamemnon "Chicago" Buckner, Millet's co-conspiritor, and David Pittu in a host of cameos.
I'm not a fan of farce, never have been, never will be. I get the idea after the first 15 minutes. IS HE DEAD? is no different. I found myself laughing, but few belly laughs. Ives' script has slimmed the show from three to two acts and added a multitude of corny, bad jokes ("The wurst is yet to come," anyone?). Michael Blakemore is the master of farce, and he hits his stride in the second act. Perhaps the biggest problem is that there's just a bit too much set-up, which really kills most of the first hour.
It is the cast, however which makes the show. Norbert Leo Butz gives a master class in acting farce and turns in one of the strongest comedic performances I've seen all year. He loses himself within Daisy and it is brilliant. Jenn Gambatese is a strong physical comedienne, but uses that atrocious British accent, thereby making her role merely "good." John McMartin is always reliable and Byron Jennings, in "Chitty-Childcatcher" get-up, proves why he and Boyd Gaines are the two most versatile actors in New York.
Michael McGrath and David Pittu steal the show. I won't ruin it for anyone. Marylouise Burke and Patricia Connolly are very funny as the two widows.
Martin Pakledinaz' costumes are gorgeous, Peter J. Davison's set receives well-deserved entrance applause, and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting is perfect. The most entertaining part of the show, to me, at least, was the painting of Norbert - as Daisy.
If you're a fan of farce, this is the show for you. It's pure, clean, unadulterated fluff and the perfect alternative when Mary Poppins or The Little Mermaid has sold out. I, however, feel it will fall the same way as Journey's End. A play nobody's ever heard of, featuring a cast nobody's ever heard of, written by Mark Twain (that's sure to scare people away). Prove me wrong.
Updated On: 12/5/07 at 06:01 PM
