By Kevin Hylton
February 4, 2003
A re-Review of FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (starring Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano) and FIFTH OF JULY (with Parker Posey and Robert Sean Leonard)
Recasting FRANKIE AND JOHNNY
Why is it that we always have to compare things? What’s better, Skippy or Jiff? Both are peanut butter. Both are creamy and if you slap a couple tablespoons on a piece of bread, both are likely to please. Still, even the most uneducated peanut butter consumers will attest to the fact that there are subtle differences between the two brands. Jiff has more of a Virginia roasted-peanut taste while Skippy tastes more like a plain, salted Planter’s Peanut. I’m not saying one is really better than the other. They both have their places. I find Jiff best appreciated with a citrus jelly that allows me to savor the smoky after-taste of the peanuts. If I’m in a Skippy sort of mood, I’m going to whip out the Strawberry jam allowing me to focus more on the jam in the sandwich.
It seems that the producers of FRANKIE AND JOHNNY would be pleased if New York’s theatre critics took a similar approach to the reopening of the play. Thursday, January 30, 2003 Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano reopened the revival of FRANKIE AND JOHNNY at the Belasco Theatre. Last year Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco began the run of Terrance McNally’s play about two homely New York restaurant workers who make midlife stabs at finding love and companionship. Both Tucci and Falco received rave reviews and the play, directed by Joe Mantello, was heralded as 2002’s must see play on Broadway. The only complaints critics uttered were that Tucci and Falco were too “pretty” for the parts. I was present at last year’s opening of FRANKIE AND JOHNNY. The play was outstanding. The set was true to the old Hell’s Kitchen apartment I call home, the direction and choreography effectively manipulated the stage to its fullest, and the acting was superb.
These days, when a cast changes in a Broadway production, the new actors typically enjoy another preview period of several weeks before the theatre invites the critics back in for a second “official opening.” This past Thursday, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY reopened and I found myself revisiting McNally’s tale of love in New York in the orchestra of the Belasco Theatre. The audience was treated to the same beautifully grimy West 50’s apartment set. The director is still the talented Joe Mantello and the staging seems to be very similar. So before the curtains rose we hoped that at least we had some brand of peanut butter.
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Since the set and direction are non-factors in this second mounting of the play, the focus must lie on the actors. FRANKIE AND JOHNNY tells the story of two lovers. JOHNNY is a short order cook in a New York diner. The character woos FRANKIE, an aging waitress working at the same diner. The play shows the manner in which this relationship develops over the course of one night. Rosie Perez (FRANKIE) proves herself a very capable stage actress. Since being nominated for an Oscar and a Globe several years ago, Perez acted at New York’s Public Theatre in REFERENCES TO SALVADORE DALI MAKE ME HOT for which she won a Theatre World Award. She’s spent time on stage with the Ensemble Theater and in Eve Ensler’s THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES. Her performance in FRANKIE AND JOHNNY is raw. I say this in a very positive light. Edie Falco succeeded in her portrayal of FRANKIE by showing the distrust and pain that lay within the character. It seemed that when Falco’s clothes came off and the lights went up on the stage she was cloaked in a suit of pain. Her sadness came out clearly in every line she uttered and every joke she carefully rebuffed. Surprisingly, Falco seemed fairly comfortable on stage in the buff. Rosie seems much less comfortable standing nude on stage. This is apparent both from her recent interview with Playbill Magazine and the ways Perez hides her nudity on stage.
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At first I was troubled by Perez’s apparent discomfort. I feared that this was a signal that Perez did not give herself to the part as Falco did in her performance. But after a few minutes, I realized that what Rosie’s performance misses in method she makes up for through her stage presence. FRANKIE is uncomfortable showing herself to JOHNNY. The secrets and past that lie deep within her have created seemingly impenetrable emotional walls. When I considered the character a little more closely, it seems that Perez’s discomfort standing up there on stage transfers well and echoes the distrust and anxiety of her character.
Recently, articles in the New York press suggested that Joe Pantoliano (who many will know as the recently decapitated star from HBO’s THE SOPRANOS) has had difficulty remembering his lines in this play. Despite the buzz, Pantoliano seemed to have good command of his part this past Thursday. With this said, I am not sure that everyone who saw Stanley Tucci in the part of JOHNNY will like Joey’s performance. Part of the brilliance of Tucci’s performance as JOHNNY was his ability to play the comedic role and at the same time leave a thin layer to the character which made viewers ask themselves, “Wait, is this a nice eccentric guy or is he actually some kind of crazy stalker?” Pantoliano clearly can handle the comedic elements of the role. Throughout the play he succeeded in generating laughs and delivering punch lines with ease. The biggest difference is in this thin layer that seems to have gone underdeveloped in Pantoliano’s projection of the character. Perhaps with time Pantoliano will evolve this element of his character. But in the end it seems that Perez and Pantoliano have done their job. We have peanut butter. Sure, Tucci and Falco may have succeeded in bringing out the roasted aftertaste in their production, but Skippy still has its place.
Reviving Lanford Wilson’s FIFTH OF JULY
I was in a bar in Syracuse tonight and was thinking that when you throw down fifty to one hundred bucks for a play in New York what is it that you really want to get out of the two hours? Do you want to learn? Laugh? Maybe you just want to escape. Regardless, it seems that what you see and how much you enjoy the play has a lot to do with your expectations. I just had the opportunity to sit down and see the Signature Theatre’s production of Lanford Wilson’s play, FIFTH OF JULY. This year the Signature Theatre is celebrating the work of Lanford Wilson and over the course of the year they are mounting four productions of Wilson’s play. The season started off with the critically acclaimed production of BURN THIS, starring Ed Norton. Next, the Theatre produced a new play by Wilson, entitled BOOK OF DAYS. The final two plays in this year’s series are FIFTH OF JULY and RAIN DANCE. For those of you who do not know Wilson’s work, suffice it to say that he is considered a very “important” playwright and his winning the Pulitzer did not hurt to establish him in this stead.
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FIFTH OF JULY opened February 2, 2003 starring Parker Posey and Robert Sean Leonard. Posey is best know for the slew of independent films that she’s involved herself with over the past ten years including DAZED AND CONFUSED, CLOCKWATCHERS, KICKING AND SCREAMING, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, SubUrbia, and the upcoming Christopher Guest comedy, A MIGHTY WIND. She was nominated this year for a Golden Globe for her work in HELL ON HEELS: THE BATTLE OF MARY KAY. Robert Sean Leonard first gained notoriety in the film world with his work in DEAD POETS SOCIETY and recently was involved in Richard Linklater’s film based on Steven Belber’s play, TAPE. As well, Leonard created a name for himself on New York’s stages by winning the 2001 Tony Award for his work in Tom Stoppard’s THE INVENTION OF LOVE. He will be seen this spring in the Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.
FIFTH OF JULY is the first of three plays Wilson wrote about the Talley family. TALLEY & SON and TALLEY’S FOLLY are the second and third segments of Wilson’s trilogy. FIFTH OF JULY tells the story of a group of five aging hippies who gather together at the home of Kenneth Talley (Robert Sean Leonard) to reconnect some time after his return from Vietnam. The play looks at relationships between family and friends and has long been heralded as a successful look at the changes and challenges the flower children of the 1960’s experienced as the 1970’s unfolded. Posey and Leonard are joined by a very capable cast including Michael Gladis, David Harbour, Jessalyn Gilsig, Pamela Payton-Wright, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and a delightful Sarah Lord.
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Richard Hoover, who won the 1999 Tony Award for NOT ABOUT NIGHTINGALES and has worked with David Lynch and Tim Burton on films and television, designed the set. The set is a beautiful recreation of a southern house full of flowering plants and trees. In fact, I think the set may be the best non-Broadway set I have seen recently. It is in the same realm as the sets created for MORNINGS AT SEVEN and PROOF. Jo Bonney, who directed Rosie Perez in The Public Theater’s production of REFERENCES TO SALVADOR DALI MAKE ME HOT, directs this play for the Signature Theatre. The play is nicely staged and the cast performs well. It is a treat to watch Robert Sean Leonard in such a small theatre and the show may be worth seeing just to witness, first hand, an actor who may very well be one of his generation’s best thespians. Leonard beautifully plays the part of a gay Vietnam vet who lost both legs in the war. The actor subtly shows the character’s pain and loss and at the same time displays a very quick, loving sense of humor. If you read a copy of FIFTH OF JULY before going to the show you will surely guess which part Parker Posey plays. Posey plays the role of GWEN, an aging neurotic hippie who lives an epicurean lifestyle supported by her now-deceased father’s business. For fans of Parker Posey, you will not be disappointed with her part. It gives the actress the range to show off her loud, boisterous comedic chops and at the same time display some darker sides. The acting across the board within this play is solid. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Sara Lord, who plays the young self-proclaimed wonder-child niece of Kenneth Talley (Leonard). Lord’s performance is enchanting and had she been with lesser casts (minus Leonard) she may have stolen the show.
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I have gone back and forth about this production. As I said, the actors are well cast. The sets and direction are well done. And yet, since walking out of the show, I have been troubled by the play. I think my problem with this piece is the play itself. The play nicely looks at friendships and the ways that people change over time. It also does have some scenes that anyone who has experienced loss may find poignant. Yet, I found that for someone who did not live through the drastic changes that occurred between the `60s and `70s, the play might not carry the same weight. Wilson’s dialog can at times jump off of the page or out of the actors’ mouths and send a dagger directly into your aorta. But more often than not I found myself slipping back into my seat and thinking to myself, “Ok, that’s clever but do I really care about this person at all?” This prompts a bigger question. Need we care about these characters?
Wilson draws three-dimensional characters who, when looked at over a coffee, are very complex. They are not necessarily likeable people. And yet, I don’t think they have to be. What I do think though, is that the playwright must succeed in drawing in his or her audience. This can be accomplished by creating a likeable character, who is real and someone we can find humanity within, or someone we hate and yet cannot stop watching. Another option is to create intrigue through a story that mandates our attention. So I sat back over my beer and considered why I sat through FIFTH OF JULY. I was not enchanted or drawn in by the story. I did not see myself or anyone I knew in these characters. I did see beautifully constructed lives on stage. Unfortunately, despite the acting, direction, and sets, I was not drawn in. It hit me all of a sudden at around two am. I saw this play because it was by Lanford Wilson. Is that enough? Is it enough for you? Perhaps. And perhaps my age or ignorance play into my acceptance of the show. Regardless, I guess when it comes down to it, you just have to ask yourself “What do I want to get out of the two hours?”
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