Naked people sell tickets. Naked emotions sell shows

This was a pretty theatre-packed weekend for me. Happy Now? was closing at the Yale Rep, a friend of mine was playing the title role in a untranslated production of Racine's Britannicus, and all Yale was abuzz about the musical being staged by the Dramat, which featured naked boys singing (but not Naked Boys Singing!).

I'd already seen The Full Monty on Broadway, and my opinion of the show was pretty much unchanged by the Dramat's production. The songs are instantly forgettable, and the plot does not progress except by sudden starts and improbably out of character shifts. Certainly, on the basis of the written script, it was the least thought-provoking of the three shows I saw.

But the last time I saw The Full Monty, it wasn't during a recession.

The six leading men (and particularly Miles Jacoby as protagonist Jerry Lukowski and Matthew McCollum as his best friend) managed to bring real, wrenching emotional depth to the cardboard cutouts of characters they were handed by the script. Jacoby was most affecting before the stripping plot really gets moving, when he and his fellow laid-off steelworkers feel trapped by their sudden misfortune.

Jacoby and the other men don't just miss their paychecks after the layoffs. Losing their jobs means losing part of their identity and part of their purpose. Their despair and desperation are palpable. The show shifts tone when Jacoby's character decides that he and his friends can regain their dignity by becoming strippers, but by the time my eyes had recovered from the strategic backlighting in the final scene, I kept thinking about the downtrodden men from the first act.

Secluded at college, my experience with the economic meltdown has mostly been limited to following policy arguments among the blognoroti. I really hadn't thought about how the effects of these decisions were being felt across the country until I saw those brilliant boys playing men leading lives of quiet desperation. And after having watched Jacoby stand alone on the stage, pinned down by a spotlight and keening in shame and grief, I only wish that kitschy, underwritten songs could solve their problems.

Weekend Arts: Keeping it in the Family

This post is of particular interest to Yale Mafiosos (though all theatre afficianados are encouraged to read on).

This week, I have had the pleasure of seeing two shows written and performed by Yalies at the NYC Fringe Festival. I had seen Usher in several incarnations at Yale, and it has gotten better every time. Usher is a musical adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Molly Fox and Sarah Hirsh.

In the musical, James (Casey Breves) is invited to the estate of his university friend, Roderick Usher (Ben Wexler) to paint Roderick's final portrait. During his time in the Usher home, James discovers that Roderick is spinning a web of lies to keep James from seeing his childhood love (and Roderick sister) Madeline (Claudia Rosenthal). These events are overseen by the malevolent portraits that haunt the Usher home.

The show is brilliantly executed. As at Yale, Casey and the rest of the cast do a brilliant job bringing life to cleverly-sketched characters and well-painted portraits. Casey's angelic tenor produces notes so beautiful that I was on the edge of my seat, hardly daring to breathe for many of his songs, and he is well matched by Claudia's haunting soprano. Fox and Hirsch give all their actors great material to work with. (Pariticularly good turns from Aaron Lee Lambert and Danielle Ryan as the Ushers servants in the song "Water and Gruel" and, in the chorus, Emily Jenda shines (without pulling focus) every moment she is onstage).

But perhaps the best recommendation for the show comes from the man on the LIRR platform this morning who complemented my singing (I couldn't get Usher out of my head). Since the only person I usually get singing complements from is my tone-deaf father, I have to assume he was moved by the songwriting prowess of Fox and Hirsh.

Usher has 4 performances left:
Sun 17 @ 4:15
Tue 19 @ 4:30
Wed 20 @ 7
Fri 22 @ 10
In addition, audio and video clips are available at the Usher website at http://www.usherthemusical.com/

The other Yale show at the Fringe is @lice in www.onderland, a dance/multimedia show based on the Lewis Carroll story. It is very difficult to translate a story so dependent on textual jokes to an essentially silent medium, but the production includes some charming moments. The two dancers who embody the Caterpillar is particularly inspired. For now though, my favorite Alice remix is still Alice in Quantumland.

@lice in www.onderland has 3 performances left:
Mon 18 @ 7:15
Tue 19 @ 5:15
Fri 22 @ 9:45