Am I surprised by today's news that the Actors' Playhouse on Seventh Avenue is set to shut? Not really.
Just four years ago, when I start doing theater criticism in New York, there were so many other commercial Off-Broadway houses that have since shuttered that it's scary: Jean Cocteau Rep, the John Houseman, the Douglas Fairbanks, Playhouse 91, the Jane Street Theater, the Perry Street Theater, the Variety Arts, the Jose Quintero, the Century Center for the Performing Arts. And let's not forget the Sullivan Street Playhouse, where the original Fantasticks played till its owner shut the place down.
And what do we have in exchange? New World Stages, home to truly trashy shows like MY FIRST TIME, ELVIS PEOPLE, and countless others that have quickly faded away. Only ALTAR BOYZ exists to give the place any respectability. Maybe it's the curse of BARE, the first show that was supposed to open there, then torn away due to the fallacies and stupidity of Dodger Theatricals at the time.
So...tonight I went back to DROWSY CHAPERONE, marking my third time there. I had gone back to see it in February or March during Bob Martin's last week, at which time the entire original cast was still intact except for Edward Hibbert.
As has already been mentioned on All That Chat, tonight's performance began in a pretty dreadful manner due to its audience. Kids from the mezzanine were screaming, clamoring on. One even called The Man in Chair a "fag." John Glover had to shush them... Terrible! Ushers, please kick those patrons out.
So, how does John Glover compare with Bob Martin? I believe that no one could ever be as effective - and for that matter, as funny - as Bob Martin in the role. After all, for the most part, he was playing himself, or at least an exaggerated version, and he wrote his own dialogue. Glover, however, does provide a pretty different take on the character. He is less manic than Martin, far more melanchony. Here is a gentler, sadder Man in Chair. I also believed that Glover's Man in Chair was indeed gay, whereas I never bought that from Martin's performance. In any case, Glover gave a truly dedicated performance worth checking out.
But the biggest thrill of the evening was Mara Davi, who just joined the cast on Tuesday as Janet. If you remember, she originated Maggie in the CHORUS LINE revival, where she totally stole my attention with her insanely hot belting in "At the Ballet." I'm tempted to say that Davi is younger, hotter and vocally better than Sutton in the role, but I won't, cause Sutton gave a great performance too. But wow, Davi was simply stunning in the role.
Beth Leavel continues to do a bang-up job, but Danny Burstein has continued to camp up his performance, making him truly the funniest character of the show.
JoAnne Worley, who I am tentatively set to interview sometime next week, provides a gleefully manic take on Mrs. Tottendale.
Weirdly, I found myself thinking about GREY GARDENS during the show, having caught the last performance of that show on Sunday afternoon. In GREY GARDENS, as the musical ends, Little Edie and Big Edie remain in a state of hopelessness and despair, with only themselves to support each other, to make it through another winter in a summer town. In DROWSY CHAPERONE, the Man in Chair has similarly plunged himself, whether by force or choice, into a sad state of lonely isolation, with only his musicals to escape into.
I keep hearing rumors that DROWSY will close in August or December. I hope it doesn't. It's such a wonderful show... And so much better than the bulk of stuff that typically rides (and quickly rides out) of the Marquis Theatre. If you haven't seen it yet, please do check it out.