The New York theater world reminds me of middle school sometimes. Everyone knows each other, secrets never stay secret for long, and when somebody's sick, everybody gets sick. It's really gross. This past week has been one of those times - it seems like every show I've heard about has had actors out, and understudies performing. At Translations, two understudies performed the final performances (one actor wasn't out so much from illness as he was from, uh, onstage violence?) At Coast of Utopia, Billy Crudup's understudy, Scott Parkinson, performed the marathon (!!), and blogged about his "dream-like" experience.
Meanwhile, I got a call from The Vineyard saying they had to cancel the performance of Mary Rose that I had tickets to because of a sick cast member, and when I went to my rescheduled performance, they still had the actor out. Someone from the Vineyard announced that since they don't have understudies, Noah Bean had graciously agreed to step in and play the role, script in hand. Noah did a really fantastic job in the face of adversity - his two scenes bookend the play, and are played in near-total darkness! With the help of a little book light attached to his script, he was relaxed and alive in the world of the play, and really cute to boot.
The non-book-carrying cast of Mary Rose is, in fact, perfection. Paige Howard is going to be a star (I know I have a redhead bias, but she really is amazing), and the cast surrounding her are a fabulous mix of some of New York's greatest non-famous theater actors. Michael Countryman is so delightful, as always. He just comes across as one of the most good-natured people onstage. And Ian Brennan again shines in a quirky character role - it's a matter of time until he's on the next Friends or what have you. The play a lovely sort of mix between ghost story and drawing room comedy, except not boring, which is what I always think of when someone says "drawing room comedy". Anyone who's into Peter Pan, or liked Finding Neverland, should DEFINITELY see Mary Rose.
If you're reading this blog, odds are pretty high that you dvr'd, watched, and re-watched Glee this week. As a former band/drama/glee club geek, it is impossible not to love this show. Creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck, and Ian Brennan have done a bang-up job of establishing a high school story that takes on the highs and lows of nerddom and celebrates it in earnest as much as it satirizes it. The case is studded with gems of the Broadway world, with Matt Morrison and Lea Michele in two of the central roles. And yes, creator Ian Brennan is the talented actor you may remember from plays like Liz Meriwether's Mistakes Madeline Made and The Vineyard's Mary Rose. Insiders say the show's delightfully quirky humor comes directly from him.
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