Days of Wine and Roses Book by Craig Lucas Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel Choreography by Sergio Trujillo & Karl Puno Garcia Directed by Michael Greig Atlantic Theatre Company July 9, 2023 Production website 💉 out of 5.
Days of Wine and Roses was truly a disappointment. It is so crazy to think that with the star-studded pairing of Brian d’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara could produce something so lame. First off, I think the story is too dated to be presented. The dynamics of addiction, and how you can’t change anyone and the advent of Alcoholics Anonymous just seems to be from old, old news – and nothing new is brought to the conversation.. What necessitate the retelling of the story? On top of that, the show had just terrible music. I always think that it’s a bad sign when you leave the theater and are not humming at least one song as you go. I can’t imagine the cast album!
Comeuppance Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Eric Ting Signature Theatre July 8, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Comeuppance really had me worried in the first few moments. Any play that begins with a character speaking directly to the audience and pretending to be “death” seems to be going down the wrong tedious path. I had very low expectations. Once the play moved through this monologue, however, I was very surprised as to how wonderful it was. A group of 30-somethings were gathered on the porch of the central characters house, all doing a bit of a pre-game libations before they go to the 20th high school reunion. The characters were so rich and interesting. They had the most complicated and interesting of relationships. I quickly forgot about the death character! The play then speaks of how they all survived the Columbine shootings, the war in Baghdad, 9/11 and even the January 6 march against the capital. But most importantly, how they all survived the Covid nightmare.
Grey House Written by Levi Holloway Directed by Joe Mantello Lyceum Theatre July 8, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Grey House is a terrific play. I had the most interesting first moment of a play ever. At what you presume is a realist world with a realistic set, and just as this crazy girl was crossing over to the kitchen, I saw a kitchen drawer open and close by itself. I thought was that an accident on stage because it was so small. Was I the only one who caught it? That made me curious. But the play only got more curiouser and curiouser as it went on. The premise of the play is straightforward. It involves a young couple out on the road, almost missing a deer, and needing to find shelter in a snowstorm. That part is clear. But from there, it’s anyone’s guess.
