women from various social classes, who sojourn for a month of respite

and renewal at an Italian villa in 1920 in "Enchanted April,"

won’t include any discussion on why monotheistic religions and societies

have little use for cultural diversity. In the one-man play "Say

Goodnight Gracie," Frank Gorshin, as comedian/monologist George

Burns, will certainly get you to stop worrying about whether the Kurds,

Sunni, and Shia Muslims, who have mostly been assaulting each other

for the past 1,200 years, are now likely to band together in solidarity.

In "Vincent in Brixton," the young Vincent Van Gogh in 1873

is far more obsessed with his sexual dalliance with his much older

landlady than he is with art. And this leads us to think about our

government’s unconscionable lack of protection for the art and artifacts

of Iraq, home to a brilliant culture that goes back 5,000 years. "Take

Me Out," a terrific play about bigotry and the glimmer of hope

for cultural tolerance through a love of baseball, wins my choice

for Best Play.

"Amour," to which France then retaliated by brushing off the

US at the UN. "A Year with Frog and Toad," is a gentle musical

(based on the child-friendly books) that is pleasing precocious pre-schoolers

and their guardians with disposable income. Set to the pop tunes of

Billy Joel, "Movin’ Out," is a gritty all-danced drama about

Vietnam vets readjusting to society that, back in those days, did

not yet have to worry about laws legalizing the carrying of concealed

handguns. My vote goes to "Hairspray," an amusing musical

valentine to the 1960s: a time that not only gave birth to rock and

roll but also (let’s not forget) saw the creation of the National

Endowment for the Arts, dedicated to investing in the nation’s cultural

life.

of musicals, has its share of bumps and grinds; "Man of La Mancha,"

once again finds Cervantes’ Don Quixote in the dungeon and his Dulcinea

in the dung heap; "La Boheme," is technically not a revival

since it has never before had a Broadway run. "Nine, The Musical,"

gets my nod by answering the question whether a spa filled with beautiful

seductive women can help cure an Italian film director suffering from

writer’s block.

takes credit for producing a worthwhile revival of Peter Nichol’s

"A Day in the Death of Joe Egg," as does Lincoln Center Theater

for the care its lavished upon the antique "Dinner at Eight."

Who could not love the hot-off-the-skillet romance between a short-order

cook and a waitress in "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune"?

But nothing can stand in the way of the dramatic thunderbolt that

is the not-to-be-missed Eugene O’Neill’s "Long Day’s Journey

Into Night."

Bernadette Peters ("Gypsy") is on, everything comes up roses,

but when she’s off (more times than you care to know), there’s the

understudy; Melissa Errico ("Amour") delighted us with her

beauty and her lovely voice; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ("Man

of La Mancha") proved she could sing the unsingable songs; Elizabeth

Parkinson ("Movin’ Out") demonstrated how dance can speak

louder than words. My choice is the rock and roly-poly Marissa

Jaret Winokur ("Hairspray"), proof that you don’t have

to be slim to be sensational.

Fierstein in dowdy drag in "Hairspray"; Malcolm Gets "Amour";

Brian Stokes Mitchell has an impossible dream in "Man of La Mancha";

John Selya’s moves like a dynamo in "Movin’ Out"; but Antonio

Banderas scores with a perfect ten in "Nine."

("Tartuffe"), can do Moliere in his sleep; Paul Newman ("Our

Town") showed us around Grover’s Corners. Stanley Tucci ("Frankie

and Johnny in the Clair de Lune"), had a great partner in "The

Sopranos’" Edie Falco. Eddie Izzard ("A Day in the Death of

Joe Egg") was impressive in his Broadway debut. Brian Dennehy

("Long Day’s Journey into Night") given a Tony towering performance

in the Eugene O’Neill classic.

in "Enchanted April"; Victoria Hamilton nurtures "Joe

Egg"; Claire Higgins inspires "Vincent in Brixton"; Fiona

Shaw sees red in "Medea". But Vanessa Redgrave rules

as the disintegrating matriarch in "Long Day’s Journey."

Cavanaugh ("Movin’ Out"); John Dossett ("Gypsy");

Corey Reynolds ("Hairspray"); Keith Roberts ("Movin’ Out");

Dick Latessa ("Hairspray").

Blanchard ("Gypsy"), Mary Stuart Masterson ("Nine");

Chita Rivera ("Nine"), Ashley Tuttle ("Movin’ Out"),

Jane Krakowski ("Nine").

Jefferson Byrd ("Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom"); Philip Seymour

Hoffman ("Long Day’s Journey"); Robert Sean Leonard ("Long

Day’s Journey"); Daniel Sunjata ("Take Me Out"), Denis

O’Hare ("Take Me Out").

Ebersole ("Dinner at Eight"); Kathryn Meisle ("Tartuffe");

Michelle Hawk ("Hollywood Arms"); Marion Seldes ("Dinner

at Eight"); Linda Emond("Life (x) 3").

Joe Mantella ("Take Me Out"); Deborah Warner ("Medea");

Robert Falls ("Long Day’s Journey").

Baz Luhrmann ("La Boheme"); Twyla Tharp ("Movin’ Out");

Jack O’Brien ("Hairspray").

Frog and Toad"; "Flower Drum Song"; "Hairspray."

"Amour"; "Urban Cowboy The Musical"; "Hairspray."

Begins at Home"; "The Play What I Wrote"; "Prune Danish";

"Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on Broadway."

Santo Loquasto ("Long Day’s Journey"); David Rockwell ("Hairspray");

Catherine Martin ("La Boheme").

Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie ("La Boheme"); Catherine

Zuber ("Dinner at Eight"); William Ivey Long ("Hairspray").

Brian MacDevitt ("Nine The Musical"); Kenneth Posner ("Hairspray");

Nigel Levings ("La Boheme").

Song"); Jerry Mitchell ("Hairspray"); Melinda Roy ("Urban

Cowboy"); Twyla Tharp ("Movin’ Out").

Out"); Nicholas Kitsopoulos ("La Boheme"); Jonathan Tunick

("Nine"); Harold Wheeler ("Hairspray").

— Simon Saltzman

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