By Barbara & Scott Siegel…
Before the Broadway Onslaught, check out ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ and ‘About Time’
Off-Broadway shows struggle during the run-up to the Tony cut-off date because the theater pie can only be cut up into so many slices. The deluge of Broadway openings in late March and throughout April suck the air out of of Off-Broadway, making it harder for those end of season shows to garner audiences. But quality is quality and discerning theatergoers, especially if you’re not a tourist who can only see a handful of shows on a visit, you might well have the time to see these two wonderful Off-Broadway musicals (not to mention, seeing great shows at a fraction of inflated Broadway prices).
Let’s start with the charming revival of Rachel Sheinkin & William Finn’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The original production opened on Broadway in 2005 and launched the careers of Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lisa Howard, and Jose Llana. And it also helped propel William Finn, with his unique and quirky style, into the top echelon of contemporary Broadway composers. The revival — cleverly pitched as a family show — is doing great business at New World Stages. We hope it will continue to thrive during Tony season, because it deserves to be seen, applauded, and laughed through from start to finish.
The goofy young characters, who are, at once hilarious and heart-breaking, are played extremely well by the current cast of up-and-coming young performers. Anchoring the production are Broadway star Lilli Cooper, veteran Jason Kravits, and former Boop star Jasmine Amy Rogers. Among the less well-known “contestants,” there are future stars among them, to be sure. But what sells the show, as always, are the smart, witty Finn tunes, and the extraordinarily funny book. A lot of the humor is decidedly adult, so the fact that this production is getting away with selling it as a family show is, on its face, brilliantly comic.
The show also uses members of the audience, which adds a definite flair of improv to the proceedings, making each performance absolutely unique and never to be duplicated. And that’s fun!
Our second recommended show is “About Time,” the new revue by Maltby & Shire at the otherwise little known but charming Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater on West 64th Street. This show finishes their trilogy of classic Off-Broadway musical revues that began with “Starting Here, Starting Now,” followed by “Closer Than Ever,” and now this delightful new work that is pitched toward an older audience.
Let’s acknowledge a certain fact: musical revues are far and few between these days — and these days include, let’s say, seventy years. For all intents and purposes, the regular stock & trade musical revue, which flourished from the 1920s thru the 1940s and early 1950s, was killed by television variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dinah Shore Show, etc. etc.
That said, the very fact that Maltby & Shire created two previous hit, much-beloved, and long-admired musical revues is a testament to their extremely high quality. And that’s what distinguishes this new show: it is funny, clever, touching, and utterly life-affirming.
A cast of top-notch theater veterans ranging from middle-aged to young-at-heart seniors, mine their rich material for laughs, tears, and defiant declarations as they, in turn, rage against time and accept its inevitability. Among those who shined the brightest, Eddie Korbich, Daniel Jenkins, Sally Wilfert, and Lynn Wintersteller.
What is most touching about this show is its uplifting message that the music will live on even if those who create it and sing it now will ultimately depart. It seems fitting that the evening we saw the show, composer Stephen Flaherty was in the audience. He and his writing partner Lynn Ahrens wrote, among many great musicals, “The Glorious Ones” which offers their song “I Was Here” providing the same message.
The art that Maltby and Shire have created will always remind us that these two men were a vital part of musical theater history. And to witness it, yourself, at a live performance of this show, is the embrace of glory.
