Stage Door: Next to Normal, Vieux Carre

Next to Normal is an extraordinary musical. At a time when movie musicals are all the rage, it's not only welcomed; it's downright revolutionary. Now at the Booth Theater, the production, about a family coping with a mother's mental illness, is searing, touching, heartbreaking and smart. Actually, it's operatic, as the dialogue is minimal, the set is stripped to essentials, and the action moves via the score. The lyrics tell the story, which means the performers have to be at the top of their game. They are.

Normal concerns a mother, father and two kids. The parents are well-educated, the children bright and attractive. But it's quickly apparent that this is a family in crisis. The mother (an astounding Alice Ripley), suffers from bipolar disorder. As she navigates the medical profession, her doctor (Louis Hobson) is both helpful and lethal. It's clear that she, as well as her family, is trapped in a void. Her husband (J. Robert Spencer) enables and denies. Her daughter (Jennifer Damiano) copes via music and a snarky attitude, while her son (Aaron Tveit) demands her attention. All are pitch-perfect.

The book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey tell a haunting and compelling story. The subject matter is provocative and the execution, coupled with a moving twist, is hugely effective. Tom Kitt's music captures the anger, rage, regret and confusion of illness. The musical highlights an important social issue and the limits of science. One has great compassion for the mother and her struggles, but Normal envelopes the entire family and their emotional heartbreak. Staged beautifully by Michael Grief and lit to perfection by Kevin Adams, Next to Normal is an unforgettable experience.

Wounded people are also a Tennessee Williams' specialty. Set in a dilapidated New Orleans boarding house in 1938, Vieux Carre captures the fragility and dignity of the powerless. Williams, the poet of faded glory, affectionately recreates the denizens of 722 Toulouse St., though he didn't complete this quasi-memoir until 1977. With the distance of time, and an acceptance of his own sexuality, Williams could render a more overtly erotic play, obsessed with light and dark, suffering and salvation.

Now at the Pearl Theater, Vieux Carre is told by the Writer (Sean McNall), a stand-in for the young Williams. Like most of the residents of Mrs. Wire's (Carol Schultz) boardinghouse, he possesses few means. Each person fights for dignity in a desolate landscape. It's striking that there are no lights in the house; two elderly women complain they cannot distinguish night from day. The Writer keeps a candle at his bedside, in a nasty room he shares with Mr. Nightingale (George Morfogen), a lascivious, but understanding tubercular artist who comes from a once-proud Southern family. These are lives in the shadows.

Yet desire, in all its incarnations, is part of the boardinghouse's ethos. Mrs. Wire is on a rampage against sin, but her tenants care only for companionship, aware of how debilitating loneliness can be. So when the sophisticated Jane (Rachel Botchan) brings Tye (Joseph Collins) home, we understand that lust, rather than love, will bind them. She hopes for understanding, but settles for less.

The cast is uniformly good, embracing their respective roles with sensitivity; the Pearl's resident troupe, capable of contemporary and classical work alike, hits the mark. This production is aided by Austin Pendleton's sensitive direction and perfect set and costume design by Harry Feiner and Barbara A. Bell, respectively.

Though Tennessee Williams is best known for his earlier endeavors - A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie - the poignant Vieux Carre is worthy of the canon. For Williams fans, it's not to be missed.

At Town Hall in New York City, it's time to cut loose. On June 5, the Romulo Larrea Tango Ensemble presents Spotlight on Tango, a story of musical passion and a salute to the music of Piazzolla, Troilo, Salgán, Mores, Federico and Plaza - all of whom were key to the history of tango. The medium is hot, sizzling and colorful, and the troupe, which has enjoyed successful runs of Tangos for La Milonga and Tango First Century, is back with singer Veronica Larc and an extraordinary array of dancers: Cecilia Saia, Angel Garcia, Leah Barsky, Carlos Cañedo, Walter Perez, Mariana Parma and Hernán Brizuela.

Tango is usually assumed to have been born in the brothels of Buenos Aires, which were a thriving industry in the early 20th century. The shortage of women meant that men had to occupy themselves until the women were available; so they practiced tango. Brothels were also the only places the upper and lower classes could mingle. When Argentine sailors docked in France in 1912, they brought tango to European shores. That, in turn, legitimized it. Once the French and British declared themselves devotees, upper-crust Argentines made it their own. Today, tango is universally heralded as a feast for the eyes and ears.

Comments

[keksik]

I'm glad you gave such a thorough review of Vieux Carre--it's so rarely done and I think it's one of William's best. I loved this show, too, and I was prepared to be bored to tears, the way I often am at any play that gets labeled "lyrical."