THE FINAL VEIL

“The Final Veil” Review – This gripping historical account of passion and loss uses a unique smorgasbord of theater, music, and dance in astonishing ways to tell an unrecognized heroic story.

THE FINAL VEIL

Reviewed by Cynthia Allen

(7/27/22)

Nancy Manocherian’s innovative The Cell Theatre and its productions have never disappointed! Since 2007, this historic Chelsea brownstone and multi-purpose art space have showcased unique and wonderful shows under the guidance of the very talented Artistic Director Kira Simring. Over the last 15-plus years, The Cell has evolved into both an incubator and “finishing school” for theater pieces, jazz workshops, classical concerts, avant-garde music forums, dance works, opera performances, and more. Despite The Cell being a relatively small venue, the place makes intelligent and versatile use of its 65-seat theatre. The gripping and astonishing The Final Veil is one of its most recent staged productions. As is typical with The Cell, this performance piece was once again a work of wonder, weaving together theater, opera, and dance in the most complementary ways.

The Final Veil recounts a time when Jewish ballerina Franceska Manheimer-Rosenberg (better known by her stage name, Franceska Mann) heroically staged her own resistance to the Nazis in Poland using a seductive dance. By many accounts, Franceska Mann had been a rising star in the European dance world just preceding World War II. She was not only a promising artist but beautiful, and both comfortable performing classical and modern dance. The European dance scene was gobsmacked by her talent when she performed at the Brussels International Dance Competition in 1939. Mann’s career was set to take off. Then the Nazis took over Poland, first rounding up the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto and then taking them to the concentration camps. Mann was among the many prisoners sent to Auschwitz in 1943. During her brief time there, she used her dancing prowess to distract and then attack Auschwitz guards. Mann’s courageousness inspired other fellow inmates to rise up and resist, despite their resistance meaning certain death.

A veil has long been recognized for its religious significance (women wearing veils for humility and modesty) and as a symbol of virtue and the elite. The Final Veil uses both the veil as an iconic symbol and as a recognized dance form. The veil tradition in dance alludes to the “first documented performance of a striptease” in circa 4000 BCE. Both Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss helped popularize Salome and the dance she performed before King Herod in their early modern works --  Wilde’s 1893 "Dance of Seven Veils" and Strauss’ 1905 “Salome” opera. Mann knew of Wilde’s and Strauss’ work. She used the veil as an integral costume piece when she performed the Salome striptease and diverted the Nazi guards’ attention in order to try to murder them. 

The multi-hyphenate, extraordinary Cassandra Rosebeetle (co-creator, director, choreographer, and lead actor/dancer of The Final Veil) learned about Mann from her Jewish relatives. So moved by her bravery, Rosebeetle decided to create a tribute to Mann -- a solo dance piece.  When first performed in 2018, Rosebeetle happened to invite a friend and composer JL Marlor to attend to get feedback. This proved to be auspicious. After her show, Rosebeetle learned that Marlor already knew of Mann from her Polish family. This fortuitous event was astonishing in many ways. Not only did very few people know of Mann, let alone that her heroic act inspired a Jewish uprising (and Marlor was more than conversant with this history), but Marlor was renowned as a composer, librettist, and performer. She was celebrated for narrative-driven vocal works and “bold compositions.” Her skillsets were complementary, the perfect person with whom Rosebeetle should collaborate to do the score and book. Their mutual knowledge of Jewish history and understanding of a plethora of musical forms – Polish, Yiddish folk songs, German cabaret, atonal opera, and off-beat jazz – helped develop the show in a richer and more substantial way. In addition, Marlor championed the idea that her libretto draw directly from eyewitness accounts and the actual words of Holocaust survivors. In a recent interview, Rosebeetle stated that she was “attracted to exploring dark themes and emotions that our society tends to shy away from, such as death and grief.” Add to this collaboration, a touch of opera and beautiful dance routines – Rosebeetle’s and Marlor’s restructured version of The Final Veil was a perfect testimonial to Mann’s spellbinding and important story.

The all-woman and non-binary cast stars Cassandra Rosebeetle as Franceska Mann with an ensemble of three dancers (Hallie Chametzky, Lauren Pagano, and Lauren Barette), four singers (Heather Michele, Katie Lipow, Abagael Cheng, and Katherine Lerner Lee), and a live four-member, string quartet (Connie Li on violin, YoonJung Hwang on violin, Katya Barmotina on viola, and Camille Dietrich on cello).

Katherine Crockett and Cassandra Rosebettle are co-choreographers. Kate Mulley wrote the text. Other production team mainstays are Micah Gleason (Music Director / Conductor), Brian Reager (Assistant Director), Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa (Lighting), Dan Daly (Scenic Design), Matthew Yohn (Sound Design), and Carly Dorman (Assistant Dance Director).

The Salome-homage dance takes on iconic significance in The Final Veil – both at the outset of the show as a flashback to the final moments of Mann’s life and at the end of the performance – the Mann character’s final dance. Mann first is presented as a beautifully lit corpse. Then, through a montage of scenes that reference Mann’s life in a Degas-styled ballet, an ensemble of three dancers (Hallie Chametzky, Lauren Pagano, and Lauren Barette) reference Mann’s inner thoughts. The veil dance may not have saved Mann, but it did cause an uprising. This gripping historical account of passion and loss uses a unique smorgasbord of theater, music, and dance in astonishing ways to tell an unrecognized heroic story.

Runs from July 14th – 31st, 2022.

Tickets and performance schedule: www.thecelltheatre.org

The Cell Theatre: 338 West 23rd Street, New York

Running time: 60 minutes

“Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale” Review -- A camp, laugh-a-minute musical that makes a splash!

TITANIQUE: UNE PARODIE MUSICALE

Reviewed by Cynthia Allen

(7/22/22)

At first, I had that sinking feeling that Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale would be all camp without much substance, but I was proven wrong -- if madcap musicals are your cup of tea. A comical, tightly directed production (by director Tye Blue) Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale made quite a splash! The show was an absurd spoof on a movie classic and an iconic singer. Titanique inserted celebrated vocalist Céline Dion as a narrator, a tour guide, and a quasi-ghost of the doomed ship’s past, who ducked in and out of the reimagined James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster film, Titanic, and reworked this megahit into a zany take on her legacy and her songs. The “parodie musicale” both nodded and winked at Céline Dion’s vocal chops, her accent, and her Charlemagne, Quebec heritage in French Canadianizing the musical’s title, Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale. Marla Mindelle, who marvelously played Céline, often broke the fourth wall when it tickled her fancy (or fantasy). As the marketing promo pointedly states with their catchphrase, “Nothing could come between Jack and Rose, except Céline!”

Using oodles of Dion’s classic numbers (plus often whimsical, non-sequiturs, such as, “Who Let the Dogs Out”), the show’s creators -- Tye Blue (also co-wrote the book), Marla Mindelle (also co-wrote the book), and Constantine Rousouli (also plays Jack and co-wrote the book) -- restructured Cameron’s smash hit, using Celine’s celebrated tunes as nonsensical plot points. In addition to the film’s theme, "My Heart Will Go On," Titanique also featured songs like "If You Asked Me To,” "Taking Chances," "Tell Him," "Beauty and the Beast," "I Drove All Night," "To Love You More," "A New Day Has Come," "All By Myself," "River Deep, Mountain High," and “I’m Alive" (among others).

Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale straddles the current genre of parody and jukebox musicals -- shows based on either films, TV shows, hit novels, or celebrities. This genre has a long and somewhat venerable tradition. Whether it be the Off-Broadway successes of the Forbidden Broadways through the decades (Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre) or the Off-Broadway to the Broadway (and Tony-nominated) transfer of Disaster! -- these tongue-in-cheek musicals owe a great deal to Evil Dead: The Musical! for paving the way. In 2003, Sam Rami, writer/director of the horror film, Evil Dead, gave his blessing to use his movie to lampoon. Thus, Evil Dead: The Musical! avoided time-consuming and costly litigation and allowed a dedicated sub-culture to take off on (and play with) this art form unencumbered by legal wrangling. Evil Dead: The Musical! popularized the “cult, musical parody genre” Off-Broadway. Though parody music has evolved as a genre from burlesque, today, musical sendups have taken to the stage in a variety of ways. High-profile camp tributes to Silence of the Lambs (Silence! The Musical!), Love Actually (Love Actually? The Unauthorized Musical Parody), and currently Friends (Friends! The Musical Parody), The Office (The Office! A Musical Parody) and the upcoming Stranger Things (Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical), to name a few, have had resounding successes with its dedicated followers of the film or TV shows. Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale deftly continues the jukebox parody tradition with a professional, very talented, and dynamic cast, as well as ingenious music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements (Nicholas James Connell), adroit choreography (Ellenore Scott), an expert production staff, and a steady stream of classic songs which move the show along.

Tye Blue’s directing style appears to be slapdash but not so. He has carefully thought through his aesthetic, knowingly benefiting from his producing experience on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” He integrates an ultra-pared-down yet effective approach (minimal props, set pieces, and a small onstage band) allowing his actors to effortlessly move in and out of the stage. 

Marla Mindelle (Sister Act, Netflix’s “Special”) plays Céline Dion. Her singing does justice to Céline and her songs. Mindelle effectively improvises Céline’s quirks and accent with rib-tickling dexterity.

Constantine Rousouli (Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical) plays Jack -- Romeo to Rose’s Juliet. He has GQ model good looks with a corn-fed mid-Western vibe. He can swoon over Rose in one minute and the next minute pander to the audience with incredible sex appeal.

Ellenore Scott (Funny Girl; Mr. Saturday Night; Little Shop of Horrors) choreographs. She uses the Off-Off- Broadway venue (The Asylum Theatre), a traditional small comedy showcase, to her advantage. Under her expertise, the actors weave in and out of the stage with carefree, but precise, abandon.

Alex Ellis (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Catch Me If You Can) plays Rose with a hilarious ferocity as if she is holding onto life and love with embellished vigor. Her voice soars in revelry one minute and then tremors in an exaggerated fashion the next as if she is about to cry in despair. Ellis plays the role full tilt, having both over-the- top emotions and humor -- even allowing for moments of breaking character to acknowledge the absurdity of the moment.

Ryan Duncan (Shrek, Getting the Band Back Together) plays Ruth, Rose’s dysfunctional mother. Duncan plays up her Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest, and drag queen impersonations to a hilt. Duncan is deliciously outrageous.

Kathy Deitch (Footloose, Wicked) plays Molly Brown. She does a remarkable take on Kathy Bates who played the Molly Brown character in the film. However, her stunning performance of “All by Myself” is spot-on sensational.

John Riddle (The Phantom of the Opera, Frozen) plays Cal. He does his own take on being a Queen of the Ocean, as if he was on a cruise making a stop at the Pines on Fire Island.

Jaye Alexander (The House Guest, Oranizatsiya) plays the Iceberg. Unlike Bowen Yang’s Iceberg skit on SNL, Alexander does not wear the iceberg headdress but rather uses a cobalt blue wig. She sings full tilt with her take on “River Deep, Mountain High,” as well as coerces the other characters to do a Kesha-like, Drag Queen performance of “Lip Sync For Your Lifeboat.”

Frankie Grande (Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages) plays Jack pal Luigi and the Victor Garber homage to the Titanic Captain with an Irish accent. His version of “I Drove All Night” is over-the-top in his playful interpretation of the song.

All the actors’ voices are expert. The main cast and ensemble (Courtney Bassett, Donnie Hammond, and Dimitri Moise) complement each other’s talents with hilarious improvisational skills.

Iron Bloom Creative Production and Gabriel Hainer Evansohn are the Scenic Designers using only a ramshackle ship’s bow as the show’s primary nautical design piece.

Alejo Vietti (Broadway’s Holiday Inn, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) is the Costume Designer. Using the production’s low-budget aesthetic to his advantage, he makes Rose’s mother’s “two doves kissing” headband and a Rose’s Crabtree and Evelyn scarf, a Jared Jewelry pearl necklace, funny ensemble pieces but hilarious throw-away lines in the musical. Lawrence Schober is the Sound Designer and Paige Seber is the Lighting Designer. Tommy Kurtzman is the Wig and Hair Designer who made Celine’s long blonde wig realistic. Eric Reynolds is the Prop Designer. He made a prop icon out of the “Heart of the Ocean necklace.”

As the poster and program (artwork created by advertising and marketing firm, Situation) indicate, Céline is designed to be at the forefront of Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale and takes a bow or in this case, to the bow (at the mask head of the Titanic) -- center stage. In the promo materials, Jack and Rose are situated intimately, not below deck, but in the sky -- emphasizing the characters being star-crossed lovers. But the Titanic takes the helm. Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale steers the audience to a hilarious time and to an experience that they are likely never to forget.

Currently at the Asylum Theatre

Asylum NYC

307 W 26th St (Between 8th/9th Avenues)

New York, NY 10001

MTA: 3 blocks North of C/E trains at 23rd St; 1 block West of 1 train at 28th St.

Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes

 “Into The Woods” Review – Another Sondheim dark yet humorous commentary on life, love, and loss.

INTO THE WOODS

Reviewed by Cynthia Allen

(7/13/22)

“Into The Woods” is a Grimm story that asks fairy tale characters to go on adventures in order to live life to the fullest. The “woods” act as a metaphor for the unknown. Here the wishes and dreams are experienced by the story’s main characters:  Little Red Ridinghood (spelled "Ridinghood" in the published score and program), Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella, as well as a few others. The prologue song “Into The Woods” sets up and defines each of the character's aspirations.

One of the most performed Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book) musicals, this 2022 Broadway revival is the best one to date! With a glorious cast and gifted director (Lear deBessonet, artistic director of New York City Center Encores! and founder of The Public Theater’s Public Works program at the Delacorte), this production made a seamless transfer from its staged concert-style version at Encores! in May 2022 to Broadway’s St. James Theatre in late June 2022.

In the lovely and apt poster and program, art concept designer Ben Wiseman has Little Red Ridinghood step behind a stage curtain that gradually transforms into a forest of black and red birch trees. Foot lifted into mid-air; the artwork suggests that Little Red Ridinghood is about to begin a mysterious journey into a menacing forest. The dominant color red serves as a visual metaphor for both the Brothers Grimm tale (influenced by Charles Perrault) – red being a costume reference and a revelation, where the character not only experiences life but death. Little Red Ridinghood’s and the other characters’ adventures play with both symbols and puns on the meaning of woods: “not out of the woods” (not out of danger or difficulties) or “knocking of wood” (to hit wood for good luck).

Finding out one’s identity and true purpose in life often begins from where one is starting -- in this case, the woods. The musical beings Act One with the baker (role played by Jason Forbach at the time I saw the show) and his wife (played by Sara Bareilles) badly desiring a child. A nearby Witch (played by the mesmerizing and gorgeous Patina Miller) appears and tells them that they are cursed and cannot have one. However, the Witch slyly states that she would lift her infertility spell if they would do a quid pro quo for her. She then sends them in pursuit of special items that relate to other celebrated fairy tale stories: fetching Cinderella's slipper, Jack and the Beanstalk’s cow, Little Red Ridinghood's “red riding hood,” and strands of Rapunzel's hair. 

In and out of their adventure to secure these iconic belongings, they encounter Jack from “Jack and the Beanstalk” (Alex Joseph Grayson subbing for Cole Thompson) and his mother (Aymee Garcia), the Giant’s mother from up the Beanstalk (Annie Golden), Cinderella (Phillipa Soo) and her Prince (Gavin Creel), Cinderella’s Stepmother (Nancy Opel), Little Red Ridinghood (the hilarious Julia Lester) and her wolf nemesis (Gavin Creel), Rapunzel (Alysia Velez), Rapunzel’s Prince (Joshua Henry), Cinderella’s Mother, Little Red Ridinghood’s Granny and the Giant (all played by Annie Golden). Additionally, a mysterious old man (David Patrick Kelly) pops up and tries to move the quest along for his own purposes. 

Each of the actors portraying these iconic figures are magnificent. But Julia Lester as Little Red Ridinghood and Patina Miller as the Witch are stand-outs! However, it would be remiss not to mention the Milky White Cow puppet (puppet designer James Ortiz and puppeteer Kennedy Kanagawa). Her puppet caricature is deftly manipulated making her extremely expressive – an audience favorite.

True to the Grimm Brothers tales, there is subterfuge, pilfering, and murder. All the characters get what they desire at the outset, where song-and-dance routines indicate that they will live happily for the rest of their lives … but will they? After all, this is a Sondheim musical! The dark Second Act posits a more negative outcome. Getting dreams and wishes have consequences, and the characters must face the music -- the good, the bad, and the ugly of life.

Lear deBessonet stages this complicated musical with great aplomb and innovation. She puts her own spin on the show and makes it engaging and charming.

Scenic Designer David Rockwell’s minimalist set is functional. Its design reflects the poster with its complementary set of 12 birch trees. He also includes miniature houses and a gigantic moon which hang from the rafters , and various three-tiered stage platforms enabling smooth segues for the characters when they go in and out of the woods. Costume designs by Andrea Hood, also are basic, but adequate. She uses color schemes to their advantage to both complement the stories and the characters within the tales.

Lighting Designer Tyler Micoleau highlights the fairy tale forest in the simplest terms and conveys moods for every scene with lovely luminosity.

The outstanding sound design by Scott Lehrer joined by Alex Neumann sets off Sondheim’s clever and pithy lyrics, which are distinct and clear in the large theater.

Aided by choreographer Lorin Latarro and the superb 15-piece, on-stage The Encores! Orchestra, conducted by Rob Berman, this is a show to revel in. 

Into the Woods has over a 35-year-old legacy; it first debuted on Broadway in 1987. The show has been performed on stage, TV, and in film, and critically acclaimed in almost all its adaptations, winning Tonys, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. This 2022 revival may prove to be the most iconic and definitive yet!

Into the Woods (extended through October 16, 2022)

The New York City Center Encores! Production

St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 888-985-9421 or visit http://www.intothewoodsbway.com

Running time: two hours and 50 minutes including one intermission

"Alex Edelman’s Just For Us" Review -- A comic for everyone not just Jews and Twitter.   

ALEX EDELMAN'S JUST FOR US

Reviewed by Cynthia Allen

(2/18/22)

Alex Edelman often corrects people when they refer to him as a Jewish comedian. He says he is a comedian for everyone -- a stand-up humorist who draws from his religion and personal memories as part of his narrative. Edelman’s uniquely witty, one-person show, Just for Us, explores antisemitism, his Jewish heritage, Twitter’s social media influence, the Olympics, and even his family’s empathy for a non-Jewish friend.

Edelman’s humor is often sly where phrases seemingly are tossed out to garner various types of “did he just say that?” reactions -- from knowing smiles to belly laughs. Adam Brace directs Just for Us. However, the show is a collaboration between Edelman and Brace regarding movement, blocking, and prop placement (boxes). Presented by Mike Birbiglia, and produced by Mike Lavoie, Carlee Birbiglia, and Joe Birbiglia, Just for Us has played to sold-out audiences since December 2021 and transferred to three different venues to accommodate audience demand. Edelman wants his audience to get his comedic references, no matter their faith or lack thereof. He even feigns surprise that his audience knows his pun when he remarks about his comedy radio show being called “Off the Wall,” noting the laughter of his audience -- a community that is conversant with what Jerusalem’s city walls symbolized in Jewish history.

The poster design (artwork done by the wonderfully talented Tristan Eaton) visually reflects pieces of a puzzle that are stories within the context of Edelman’s show -- a gorilla, Santa Claus, a Jewish holiday cookie, the menorah, a priestly blessing, and even a rift on a Twitter bird icon. Also, his show’s title is a double entendre that begs the question, who is or what is the “Us" in Just for Us? As with Jordan Peele’s feature film, Us, both Peele and Edelman created a title that had layers of meaning within it. With Peele, there were references to the dualistic nature of his Black characters, society, or even perhaps the abbreviated United States (US). For Edelman, he is referring to the segregated make-up of a Queens white supremacist meeting or those abhorred by how the world, and perhaps the United States (US), has become more and more reactionary. Both the show’s poster and title have comedic intentions where he winks and nods at life’s absurdity. Unlike Peele, Edelman treats his alt-right experience not as horror, but as a curiosity where he can go after comedy and contradiction simultaneously.

Edelman began with an anecdotal bit about Robin Williams and Koko the signing gorilla. Then he stitched together other stories that sounded like non-sequiturs. However, each narrative thread related to an overall theme of where his curiosity managed to lead him. Even his anecdote about his radio show that he showcased in England, “Off the Wall,” was the basis for Edelman becoming more involved with Twitter than he intended -- a fundamental part that framed his show. Before “Off the Wall,” Edelman primarily followed a select few Twitter lists relating to sports and one called Jewish National Fund Contributors. When “Off the Wall” garnered attention on Twitter from various racist trolls, Edelman reacted to the hate Tweets. His posts instigated a back-and-forth diatribe which ensued for days. Then the curiosity and a “what if” lightbulb went off and Edelman decided to round-up the anti-Semites who thought fit to attack him and put them in his personal OK corral, his own Twitter list which he mischievously dubbed “Jewish National Fund Contributors.” Edelman decided that he wanted to monitor this racist hate group and not just react to them online.

Shortly after adding his dubbed Jewish National Fund Contributors Twitter list, a particular tweet grabbed his attention. It posted that a meeting was to happen in Queens “for people curious to explore their #whiteness.” As an Ashkenazi Jew from Eastern Europe, Edelman was curious about what race and whiteness meant to both himself and this organization. And, despite warnings from a friend who said, “what the hell are you thinking” and “are you crazy,” curiosity bested him. Queens-bound, he took the subway to quell his obsessive interest regarding what the white supremacists and their meeting were all about. He decided to show up unannounced to see what infiltrating a white supremacist group might be like.

Upon entering the Queens’ apartment, Edelman encountered a dissectologist (a compulsive jigsaw puzzle enthusiast). The woman was obsessive about puzzles and completing them, particularly large, thousand-piece puzzles. To emphasize her joy in completing her puzzles, she proudly framed them when done, and the puzzles lined the hallway of her apartment. His story at the beginning of his entering the white supremacist meeting place was a set-up for an important point he made later in the show. This tale was also alluded to in his poster art. His face was used as pieces of a puzzle, a montage of his anecdotes. The poster art was a clever visual pun.

Edelman’s brilliant show, Just for Us, is not a series of non-sequitur, comedic sketches but comments on Edelman’s insights on his Jewish roots, antisemitism, and today’s society and its absurdities. In the end, Edelman leaves the audience hanging with a dig at solving or not solving puzzles. True to form, his final anecdote leaves them with “I can’t believe he did that” laughter.

Written and performed by Alex Edelman; Directed by Adam Brace

Presented by Mike Birbiglia, and produced by Mike Lavoie, Carlee Birbiglia, and Joe Birbiglia

Greenwich House Theater: 27 Barrow Street, New York, NY in the West Village:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Greenwich+House+Theater/@40.7324182,-74.0030738,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c259437f5c5879:0x8b7e7396e6f9a840!8m2!3d40.7324182!4d-74.0030738

Return engagement: June 13 through Sunday, September 2nd, 2022

[Note: This production has moved to the Greenwich House Theater for its latest extension.]

Tickets: http://www.JustforUsShow.com

or contact the Box Office at 212-352-310

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes (no intermission)