Before I get into the new Broadway shows I've seen this week, did I ever write about Violet? I don't think so. I saw it awhile ago. Sutton Foster stars in it, and it's absolutely lovely. The score is gorgeous. Here's a peek at some of the music:



ETA: It's a good day for theater! The Cripple of Inishmaan opened today, and so did Violet, and both received raves from the New York Times (read on for details about The Cripple of Inishmaan). Isherwood called Violet "terrific and heart-stirring" and declared Sutton Foster's performance "career-redefining." I wholeheartedly loved both of these shows, so I'm thrilled.

One of the shows I saw this week was All the Way. I mostly wanted to see it because of Bryan Cranston. Mr. Cranston plays Lyndon B. Johnson, and I don't know how accurate his portrayal is; the men sitting behind me had actually met President Johnson multiple times and had a few minor quibbles about how Mr. Cranston's performance wasn't entirely accurate (the accent and posture were two of their complaints). Mr. Cranston, however, commands the stage and infuses the character with vigor. He's magnificent to watch. There are so many characters in the play that many of them aren't completely fleshed out. Incredibly talented actors such as Michael McKean (he's one of my favorites) and John McMartin are underused. I felt like the pacing was a bit off at times, but overall I thought this play was an interesting look at a small slice of history. I stagedoored and Mr. Cranston was very kind.

I also saw the musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder this week. It's a fun (and funny) show about a serial killer. Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays plays multiple characters and is as amazing as he always is. Bryce Pinkham gives a solid performance as the charming murderer. The whole cast is strong, in fact, and it's a very clever show. Right now this seems like the frontrunner for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Although I enjoyed it, I must say that if this is the frontrunner, it's a very weak year for Broadway musicals. If the brilliant off-Broadway musical Fun Home had transferred to Broadway (there were rumors about this), it would have won hands down. I also think the off-Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 could have beaten A Gentleman's Guide....in my opinion, off-Broadway has had a very strong year in terms of musicals (and Broadway has not).

Another Broadway play from this week is The Cripple of Inishmaan. First of all, let me tell you about Martin McDonagh. He's my favorite playwright; I read or see anything I can of his. He's brilliant. Because I love his plays, I choose to ignore the fact that he now prefers film to theater (his plays are better than his films, so I wish he'd stick to plays, but I suppose I have to respect his feelings). My absolute favorite play ever is The Lieutenant of Inishmore, written by Mr. McDonagh. What I love about Mr. McDonagh is his ability to write a play so devastatingly sad it will break your heart yet so absolutely hilarious it will make you split your sides laughing. I don't know how he does it. The Cripple of Inishmaan is one of those plays; it's simultaneously so funny and so depressing. It's part of Mr. McDonagh's Aran Islands trilogy. The Aran Islands are three islands that lie off the west coast of Ireland, and there's one play for each island: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Banshees of Inisheer (which is unpublished). I've seen another production of The Cripple of Inishmaan before, but that previous experience didn't diminish the emotional experience of seeing the play performed again. Daniel Radcliffe plays the title role, and he plays it very well. The physicality is an essential element to the character (I mean, just look at the title) and Mr. Radcliffe is an incredibly convincing cripple. The whole cast is very strong. The production transferred London, and I'm so glad it did, because it really is a great production (even though I can't say it's better than the 2008 production at the Atlantic Theater). It shook me (as McDonagh's plays always do), and it's easily my favorite Broadway play of the season.
ETA: The show opened tonight and is getting wonderful reviews! Here's the New York Times review. Brantley reviewed it, and he says what I was trying to get at about the play:

"Compared with most of Mr. McDonagh’s work, “Cripple” has a fairly low violence quotient. It’s more comfortably a comedy than, say, “Beauty Queen.” But as outrageously funny as it often is, the play aches with a subliminal sadness that stays with you. The fabrications and speculations that these characters spin, in the fine old tradition of wild Irish yarns, come from an awareness that life is short and dangerous and, perhaps worst of all, empty.....

 Mr. Radcliffe’s Billy embodies the essence of this beautifully ambivalent play without dominating it, which would throw the production off balance. Despite Billy’s gnarled form, which makes even walking an agonizing process, he often registers as just one of many vivid portraits in a gallery of oddballs. But then he turns his sea-blue stare outward, and the loss and loneliness in his eyes lance right through you. 

Of course the odds are that the very next minute you’ll be chuckling away, which doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten that flash of pain. At one point Billy gravely tells his friend, the sweets-addicted Bartley (Mr. MacNeill), who has been making fun of a woman who talks to stones, “You shouldn’t laugh at other people’s misfortunes.” 

This greatly perplexes Bartley, whose answer is unrepentant: “But it’s awfully funny.” He’s right, of course. It is. This gorgeously realized production has the wisdom to let us laugh until it hurts."

I saw the off-Broadway play The Heir Apparent at Classic Stage Company, and it was fabulous. It's a hilarious show featuring Carson Elrod, Paxton Whitehead, and David Pittu, and the play is just so witty and smart. It got a rave from the New York Times that's worth a read.

Ooh, another theater-related thing: I won a backstage tour of Studio 54, which was very cool. I got a signed Playbill from Cabaret and was able to see everything that goes on backstage (believe it or not, the laundry room was very impressive). Here's the view of the house from the stage (I got to stand onstage!) and me backstage:

And finally, last theater-related thing: I organized my Playbills over spring break! I arranged them by date and put them in plastic sleeves (with my ticket for each show in each sleeve as well, visible on the back), which I put in binders. I also had to make space for the binders. It was a massive (and expensive) task, but I'm glad I worked on it. I'd rather have these accessible than have them sitting in boxes under my bed.