Three shows in 26 hours: Blue Leaves, Singing Nuns and Mark Rylance!

[April Saul]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:27pm

Okay, so to continue my springtime theater binge, I took in House of Blue Leaves Tuesday, Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon and Sister Act a few hours later.

TRUE CONFESSION: For two days, I have been afraid to post the truth, that I actually enjoyed House of Blue Leaves. Granted, this may have something to do with not ever having read it or seen a production of it before, particularly the one that's revered so on this board. It may also be connected to the fact that the nice house manager let me relocate from my EXTREME left mezz TDF seat from which the stage was partially obstructed by a tech guy at a laptop...and sit in a box with a friendly costume designer from the show, from which I migrated at intermission to the center of the front row, where things are always just a bit more interesting.

I had no idea what to expect--and by the end still wasn't sure what to think--but it kept me interested. And even though I agree that Jennifer Jason Leigh is miscast, Edie Falco is such an acting treasure that her presence alone made up for that.

Maybe I don't know enough about this play to be horrified, but I was--even though it's hard to admit on this board--entertained.

Then there was Jerusalem. Thankfully, the two intermissions gave me plenty of time to discuss this play with everyone around me and to move close enough to it to smell the forest on stage, settle in for all that dialogue, and be just a few feet from Mark Rylance's incredible performance.

Sister Act was definitely a good place to end the marathon. Had gotten to the box office that morning at 9:45 AM, barely in time to snag of the last few front row rush seats for that night. Just a ton of fun--although the poster on this board that suggested that this could give Book of Mormon competition for a Tony is crazy, Mormon is WAY better--and Patina Miller was wonderful. And I didn't even have to wonder what any of it meant!

Somewhere in between Jerusalem and the convent, on Ninth Avenue in the rain, I almost bumped smack into Kiefer Sutherland, and couldn't help but grin. Jack Bauer gave me a big smile, and that was only further proof to me that I was indeed having a pretty terrific theater day.

It's not that these plays didn't have their flaws. But to hear the words and music of people like John Guare, Jez Butterworth and Alan Menken spoken and sung by the likes of Falco, Rylance and Miller is just such a treat that it's just hard for me to dwell on the mistakes. Just two cents from a Broadway Pollyanna here

Updated On: 4/7/11 at 10:27 PM

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:42pm

Glad to hear you enjoyed the shows! I'm looking VERY forward to going and having a good time at Sister Act in a week, and I'm considering maybe seeing Jerusalem, though Born Yesterday and Vera Stark are looking more appealing at the moment...

And I love seeing celebrities just walk by you on the street. I saw Nathan Lane walk by on 47th after I saw Good People, and Angela Lansbury at The Book of Mormon (of ALL places!).