A Fall Theater Bonanza

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Now, let's get this hour started with theater.

There are so many things to look forward to about the fall.

Searingly hot days are becoming gloriously temperate.

If you like pumpkin spice, it is your time to shine.

Here at Team All of It, one of our favorite things about the season,

is the new theater season.

From revivals like Gypsy and Our Town,

to new productions like The Hills of California and Yellowface,

there's a lot to look forward to,

and a lot of big Hollywood names will be coming to the big stage.

People like Robert Downey Jr.,

Julianna Margulies, and Adam Driver.

Not to mention practically the entire cast of Succession.

Plus, beloved Broadway stars like Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone are back.

Helen Shaw is the theater critic for The New Yorker,

and she's here now to preview some of the shows that are coming up.

Some of the shows that she is excited about.

Hi, Helen.

Hi there.

Hey, listeners.

We want to get you in on this conversation.

What are you excited to see this fall?

Call or text us, 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC.

You can also reach out to us on social media,

at All of It, WNYC.

I gave you this question beforehand

because I wanted you to have time to think about it.

What are some of the adjectives to describe

the theater season in the fall of 2020?

So, I would say starry, nostalgic, and troubled.

Oh, good.

I'm so excited to get into those three things.

First of all, I read there were 16 Broadway openings

between now and the end of the year.

Yeah.

Is this a lot?

Yeah, it is.

And it's exciting because so many of them are plays

as well as musicals.

And that is, as you know,

not always the norm for Broadway,

and I don't know,

that feels like a kind of a new optimism

about what can succeed there.

What stands out to you about the offerings?

So, there is a real reliance on great writing.

There are people who have had major off-Broadway careers

who have gone off to Hollywood and come back.

So, Leslie Hedlund is coming with a show to Broadway,

which is exciting, Cult of Love.

We also have great playwrights who are, you know,

our Pulitzer winners and our Obie winners,

like David Henry.

So, we're going to talk a little bit about David Henry

who, as you mentioned, has Yellow Face coming to Broadway,

which is a much-awaited production.

It was very beautiful at the public.

This might be almost 20 years ago, 2007, whenever that was.

And now it is coming to Broadway with an astounding cast.

So, it's definitely kind of, I think,

the fall of the playwright.

Early this year, the New York Times wrote an article

about how even four years after the pandemic,

ticket sales are down.

Attendance was still down.

Compared to the pre-pandemic.

And some small theaters were struggling.

What are you hearing?

Well, it is pretty rough from a standpoint of

particularly non-profit theaters.

And if you look at the history of, for instance,

Tony Awards for Best Play,

every single Tony Award for Best Play over the last 20 years

has gone to a show that started at a non-profit theater.

And so, without our non-profits,

we don't have an American theater.

And so, the fact that they are struggling

is really troubling.

We know they're struggling

because some of them are moving in together.

Second Stage is going to be moving in

at the Signature Theater.

We know that Soho Rep is moving from downtown

up to have a sort of roommate situation

at Playwrights Horizons.

And so, while on the one hand,

I'm really excited about the kind of heat and light

that that condensation of all of our activity

is going to create,

it also does signal us that there is,

there's a lot of room for us.

And so, I think that's a really good thing.

There's trouble in paradise.

Well, let's talk about some new productions.

Left on 10th, it begins on September 26th

at the James Earl Jones Theater.

It's a romantic comedy based on Delia Efron's memoir.

It's directed by Susan Stroman

and stars Juliana Margulies and Peter Gallagher.

I think of Peter Gallagher as a song and dance guy.

Yes, yes.

How is he going to do in a straight-up play?

Well, I think if we can trust anyone

to create romantic energy on stage,

it's going to be one of the Efron sisters.

And so, I am sort of guardedly optimistic.

I also happen to have just seen a romantic comedy

on stage last night called Table 17 at MCC.

So funny.

Blew me away.

It is so funny.

Blew me away.

And I was sitting there in the middle of it

and I wrote in my dutiful little notebook,

more romantic comedy.

So, I think, you know,

if the rising tide lifts all boats,

that's going to apply.

What about Margulies?

I mean, we've seen her

on The Morning Show

playing a queer character

and she, of course, on The Good Wife.

What does she have to do

to help us believe her in a comedy?

Well, I will say that

when I think of Margulies,

I think of her as somebody

who has an air of command.

And I think of that as being something

I've associated with her

all throughout her career.

Right?

Carol Hathaway, air of command.

And that the secret,

as I learned last night

watching Carrie Young

melt in and out of love,

is letting command go

and letting vulnerability show.

And so, what she will do

if she succeeds

is she'll show us

the sort of squishy heart

behind all of that astonishing ice.

That's left on 10th.

We're talking about

The Hills of California.

It's about to begin previews

at the Broadhurst Theater.

It's about sisters who return

to their childhood home

on the English coast

where their mother is dying.

Now, you saw this in London, yes?

I saw it in London, yeah.

What were your thoughts?

Well, you know,

it is in,

it's very different.

So, for people who are going

expecting Jez Butterworth's last play,

which was the Irish tragedy,

The Ferryman,

this is quite different.

This, again,

this is one of the reasons

why nostalgia is very much on my mind

because you see scenes

both in the girls' youth

and then them as, you know,

spoiler alert,

disappointed adults.

And so, kind of toggling

back and forth in time.

And,

it is intricate.

It is really, truly intricate.

And so, for me,

one of its great pleasures

was the craft

that Butterworth has as a playwright.

Again, I really think

this is the fall of the playwright.

But also, he's writing

for Laura Donnelly again,

who was the star of The Ferryman.

And she might be

the most magnetic person

I've seen on stage this year.

She is a, she is a lodestone.

So, it's families behaving badly,

you know,

which is also a real staple

of the stage.

And so, I'm excited to see

what it's like

with these American audiences.

We are talking with Helen Shaw,

New Yorker's theater critic.

We're talking about

the new season of theater

that is hitting New York.

Let's hear some texts.

I'm looking forward

to Adrienne Wilson

and Nick Jonas

in the revival

of The Last Five Years.

Adrienne Wilson,

she played Tina Turner, yes?

She did.

I mean, also,

good competitor

for Most Magnetic.

But that's next year.

We have to hang on.

We have to bank our hearts

for that one.

All right.

Let's hang on to that one.

I'm so excited

for the revival

of Sunset Boulevard.

The production stole

seven Olivier Awards

in London.

It's the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic,

but in a whole new reimagination.

What does your guest

have to share?

So, I have not seen it.

I have seen images from it

which make it look like Carrie,

basically.

It's pretty blood-drenched,

apparently.

And I'm, I, you know,

I am a little, again, guarded.

My heart is, is fenced

for this one.

I've seen productions

by this director

who is a real kind of

master of the guignol

that have been astonishing.

Like, he did a Cyrano

with James McAvoy

that was off-Broadway

a couple of years ago

or a year ago.

Anyway, the past is the past.

Which was amazing.

And so, this could also

be one of those.

Or it might be

Sensation for Sensation's Sake.

I will say Andrew Lloyd Webber

having busy days

and bizarre new takes

on his productions

is kind of the guy

of the moment

since this summer's best show

was Cats the Jellicle Ball

at PAC-NYC.

Let's see.

I'm excited to see

Adam Driver

at the Lortel Theatre

next month.

I've seen him in

Angels in America

and Burn This

and He Always Delivers.

That's Cindy

from The Village.

Well, this brings me to

my list of big stars.

You know, Adam Driver

is going to be

at the Lortel

which is small

in a Kenneth Lonergan play.

He's a star

too as well.

Robert Downey Jr.

is headlining

a play called

McNeil.

Seems like everybody

in the cast of Succession

is in a show.

First of all,

what do you make

of big names?

Let's start there.

Big names on theatre.

So, I am,

you know,

I can be a little

crotchety

when someone

parachutes in

and they haven't

done any theatre.

You know,

they went away

and then they never

came back.

That is not the case

for Adam Driver.

He's really good on stage.

Deep,

deeply,

deeply dedicated.

I saw him in an

Ostrovsky play

at Classic Stage.

I mean,

this is a person

who really loves,

he loves text

and he may,

in Burn This,

he was absurd.

He's also really willing

to go,

you know,

massive.

Go there.

In a robe,

in a shorty robe

in that particular case.

So,

I think the chance

to see all of that

intensity up close

at the Lortel

is,

is pretty major

and is pretty exciting.

And it's part of a trend

of,

you know,

really huge people

coming to Off-Broadway

and

Cola Scola,

of course,

started O'Mary

in that same theater.

And so,

you know,

does it make me

a little sad

that the Lortel

used to be a place

of

more,

less commercial projects?

Yes,

but on the other hand,

the commercial projects

that are going there

just happen to be superb.

So.

I'm excited about

all the new shows

coming this fall,

but I don't know

how many I'll get to see.

Prices are so expensive.

I splurged on a ticket

to McNeil

with Robert Downey Jr.

I'm dying to see Audra

in Gypsy.

She just gets one name,

Audra.

As well as

Death Becomes Her.

Have you heard anything

about Death Becomes Her?

I haven't heard anything

about it.

I'm so excited.

I will say that

I have looked at

the poster art

with just

deep

sort of

90s kid

bliss.

So,

it does feel

there's something

that happens to you

in your 40s

when you,

when you realize

that culture

is just pandering to you

and it feels great.

If you're not in your 40s,

I'm sorry

because this is our time.

All right.

Let's talk about

some of the revivals.

Our Town,

the ultimate

comfort theater food.

It's, you know,

it's a return to Broadway

directed by Kenny Leon.

He was here

talking about home

and he was very excited

about his cast,

first of all.

But why does

Our Town survive?

So,

Our Town,

so,

this is me being

a bit of an,

of a nerd,

I guess,

is I teach

Our Town every year.

I teach a modern

U.S. drama class.

And so,

I read it every year

and for me,

it is a,

that's a ritual

that is

important to me.

I think we get

this sense of it

as being an easy play

because we did it

in high school

or we saw it

in high school

and we think

it must be easy.

It must just be like,

I don't know,

Camelot.

But it's not.

It's actually

very,

very profound.

And it asks us

to look at

the most simple

fact of life,

which is that it ends.

It's a,

it's a beautiful piece

and it's done

so without pretension.

And I think that

Kenny Leon's

production of Home

is actually

what made me so excited

about this coming

production of Our Town

because Home,

if you saw it,

was done with

almost no set,

with,

it was extremely

stripped down

and you saw

this is Leon

just with actors

and the lip of a stage

and what he can do

and it,

it was really beautiful.

Is there anybody

in the cast

that you find

particularly interesting?

You've got Katie Holmes,

you've got Jim Parsons,

the narrator.

I would say

those people

are in it

and that is

okay with me,

I will say.

But I'm more excited

about,

let's see,

so Billy Eugene Jones,

who was

the breakout

for me

in Fat Ham,

is in it.

Yeah.

I mean,

oh,

I mean,

what a comic

talent.

Who else?

And Ephraim Sykes,

who was David Ruffin

in,

oh no,

there were,

Ain't Too Proud.

I often say

Ain't Too Proud

and Ain't No Mo

at the same time.

They both come out

of my mouth.

But Ephraim Sykes

is going to be George

and if anyone can play

like romantic,

yearning heartbreak,

it's going to be him.

You mentioned

Yellow Face,

which starts previews

at the Todd Haymes Theatre

on the 13th.

13th was written

by Henry Wang

of M. Butterfly,

David Henry Wang.

And it's based

on his own

criticism of casting

of Jonathan Price

in the original

production of

Miss Saigon.

It's going to star

Daniel Dae Kim.

I believe there'll be

guests in a couple of weeks.

What is exciting

about this?

Well,

one part of it

is that it is

a good play

and I had seen it

off Broadway

and loved it.

So I,

it all really

at the bottom

comes down

to the fact that

he has a comic touch,

a really light

comic touch.

And Daniel Dae Kim,

who was one of the people

who came in

as in The King and I

after Ken Watanabe left,

is also,

it turns out,

spectacular comedy

on stage.

And so for me,

it is the fact

that we're going to be

looking at two

masters of timing

kind of linking up

and making mischief.

You've just made me

very excited

about seeing that.

My guest is Helen Shaw.

She's a New Yorker

theater critic.

If you want to tell us

what you are interested

in seeing this fall,

our phone lines are open

212-433-9692,

212-433-WNYC.

You can call us

or you can text us

on that number.

After a quick break,

we're headed off Broadway.

You are listening

to All of It on WNYC.

I'm Alison Stewart.

My guest is Helen Shaw.

New Yorker theater critic.

We are talking about

the fall theater season.

Okay, we're going to head

off Broadway

and you want us

to know about GATS.

Am I pronouncing

that correctly?

You are.

Okay.

It's starting for a one-month

run at the public theater

starting November 1st.

What,

and I understand it's long.

Well, sure.

But,

How long is too long?

There is,

you know,

I mean,

you go to work all day

and you're okay with that.

Just go to the theater all day.

It's just as peaceful.

I,

So you may have noticed

that there are great

Gatsby adaptations

coming out of our ears.

There is one on Broadway now.

There was one at the ART

in Cambridge recently.

And that,

of course,

is because copyright

has lapsed.

I mean,

if we,

if we want to really face

We like the public domain

around here.

Yeah, sure.

We love the public domain.

GATS is a much more

mischievous project

because it started

when it wasn't

in the public domain.

I mean,

they got shut down

a couple of times

and,

and you have to respect that.

The second thing

I love about it

is it's the entirety

of the book.

And so Scott Shepard

is basically

like an office drone.

Talk about going to work.

And he sits there

and he reads

the entire book to you

while it sort of

coalesces around him.

And the thing

that I've been missing

from those other two adaptations

is the text.

And it is,

you don't miss it here.

You get it all.

It is,

I've seen it,

I think twice,

which means I've put

12 hours into it.

And so I'm ready

to do it again.

Wow.

Bad,

and I'm pronouncing

this right,

K-R-E-Y-O-L.

Bad Creole?

Bad Creole.

Yes.

Okay.

Let's ask about Bad Creole.

What's going on there?

So Dominique Morisseau,

Who I love,

by the way.

So,

you know,

I,

As a playwright.

I wanted to talk

about this project

partially because

I think Dominique Morisseau

is exciting,

but also because

Bad Creole

is the last show of hers

that's going to be

at the Signature.

So Signature Theater,

as you can tell

from the title,

is interested

in the playwright's signature.

And so they've had

several of her pieces there.

That's what they do

is they program seasons.

These seasons

can sometimes extend

over many years

of playwrights

of sometimes old stuff,

sometimes new stuff.

And so,

for instance,

last season

we saw Sunset Baby

and now we're going

to get Bad Creole,

which is a new work.

And this is the kind

of longitudinal,

you know,

syllabus viewing

where you really

get to understand

what is going

on in one

of our great creators.

Confederates

is, for me,

her finest play.

It was also

at Signature.

I'm really thrilled

to see what she does

as her swan song there.

What about McNeil?

I just turned on the radio,

so I may have missed it.

Well,

I will say

that I am,

you know,

I'm a booster.

I'm a cheerleader

for the theater

in general.

And so I would never

say anything

about anything

concerned

about a show

when I haven't seen it.

However,

when we were talking

about Stars earlier,

I am interested

to see what happens

when Robert Downey Jr.

comes to a stage

which he has not

chosen to be on

for some decades.

And so,

might it be a car crash?

It might be,

but, you know,

a car crash worth seeing.

We have to talk

about the ticket price

on Broadway's show.

It hit an all-time high

this year.

We talked about it

on this show.

There are many reasons

that the prices

are so,

are increasing.

Some people,

something as simple

as the labor costs

and how much

the lumber costs.

Sometimes,

if it's a big celebrity,

they get a take

at the box office

and that can send up prices.

What is your take

on the financial trade-off

behind, one,

bringing in a big star?

Yeah,

but it does also

sell the tickets.

But it sells the tickets,

right?

Mm-hmm.

I, you know,

I was saying I teach

and I tell my students

the very first day of class,

here are how to get

rush tickets.

Here's how to call

a box office.

Here's how to stand out front

and not pay

your ticket master surcharges.

Here's how to get in cheaply.

There are ways.

It is rough

that you have to follow

a show on Instagram,

that you have to go

to bwayrush.com

in order to figure out

what the rush policy is

or whatever,

that it requires

a kind of an insight

or take.

But I was sitting next

to somebody at Gatsby

when I saw it earlier

this summer

who'd seen it four times

and she had not been

paying full freight.

So for those people

who are in New York

who can spend

that kind of time

looking for the tickets,

it's possible.

I will tell you,

you know,

when I was in London

and I am so jealous,

the grass does seem

to be greener there.

They have a very thriving

young audience.

And I think that is

because the tickets

while getting more

expensive there

are still a fraction

of what they are here.

Text says,

Off-Broadway,

great production

by highly regarded

Russian expat director

in a small space

at Center at West Park,

Presbyterian Church

on Amsterdam and 86.

Are you familiar?

A friend of mine

went to see that.

I have not seen it.

There is certainly,

there are certainly

expat Russian directors

who are working

in New York right now,

Dmitry Krymov

is another one

who is now working

at La Mama

because in Russia

being a theater director

is actually being somebody

who you might be asked

about your political standing.

Oh, really interesting.

And so if you have

gone on record

as being against the war,

against the invasion

or in any way

critical of Putin,

if those people

want to work,

they have pretty much

left the country.

Anything else that you see

that you're in love with?

So I,

so it's my own

personal,

personal root taste

is I love

like being in a basement

with someone

throwing salami at me.

Do you know what I mean?

Like it's got to be weird.

And so the top weird stuff

right now

is at NYU's Skirball Center

and is at BAM

and is at Japan Society.

It's these,

these festivals

of very short runs

of international projects,

many of which look

very cool to me.

I think the top one,

the one where I am

the most sort of

ha ha ha,

it's coming here

is a one person,

I think it's one person,

a cabaret version

of Showgirls,

the movie Showgirls,

in which a,

a cabaret star

sitting at her makeup table

is sort of entering

into the Nomi mind

of the Verhoeven movie.

And I,

that for me is,

nothing says theater like that.

I go to a lot of theater,

not as much as you do,

but I do go to a lot of theater.

And so I,

something I noticed

is that people,

some people

don't really know

how to react anymore.

I don't know if it's because

they've been at home

on the couch

and they're used to yelling.

A woman yelled

in the middle of a silent scene

the other day at the theater.

I'm curious what you've seen.

Have you seen that at all

or is this just my luck?

No, it's happening.

Some theater artists

are playing with it.

So Philip Howes,

who did a show

called Six Characters

that was at Lincoln Center,

at the end of this past season,

psyched us all out

by as we walked into the theater,

we had to put on wristbands

if we were willing to participate.

And I will tell you,

I do not like to participate.

You know what I mean?

I like to sit in my seat

and be invisible.

And so I,

you know,

I was like,

no, thank you so much.

And then it was all a fake out.

There was a sort of violation

of the fourth wall,

but we didn't ever actually

have to participate.

And yet what it had done

was created this real

kind of porous relationship.

People were yelling at the stage.

People were saying,

hey, go to the next step

at a guy who was on a ladder

who couldn't reach something.

It was,

it was actually pretty thrilling.

Do I feel that,

say, King Lear at the Shed

is going to have the same

excitement around an audience

that says, you know,

pick your younger daughter.

She's the one who loves you.

Probably not.

Helen Shaw is the New Yorker's

theater critic.

We really appreciate you

coming in, Helen.

Thank you so much.

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