Loose Lips
AT THE BALLET
Few choreographers move as easily between Broadway and ballet as does Ann Reinking. Her most recent work, Within You, Without You — a suite of dances set to the music of George Harrison — can be seen on May 11 when American Ballet Theater returns to Lincoln Center for its spring season. Reinking has also choreographed two pieces, Slices and Ritmo y Ruido, for Ballet Hispanico; that’s one reason why she’s an honorary chair (along with Chita Rivera, Graciela Daniele, and Phylicia Rashad) of the 34-year-old company’s annual gala, to be held Monday at the Plaza Hotel.
“Many years ago,” says Reinking, “my friend Bill Whitener asked me to see one of the pieces he choreographed for them and not only did I fall in love with the piece, I fell in love with the company. Anytime [artistic director] Tina Ramirez wants me to do something, I will. I love doing concert choreography because everything is about your vision, come heck or high water. Of course, you also take the blame for everything, but it’s wonderful to be able to make up dance for dance’s sake.”
Meanwhile, Reinking’s choreography for the revival of Chicago, is still wowing them at the Ambassador Theatre. She comes in to work with most of the show’s newcomers; her next big assignment will be Trading Spaces host Paige Davis, who’ll take on the role of Roxie Hart beginning June 22. “I like to tailor each show to the performer’s personality and make choreographic changes if necessary. That’s what Mr. Fosse did,” says Reinking, referring to her mentor and former paramour. “I think, even after all these years, that no two companies of Chicago have been alike.”
Ms. R. can also often be found in the audience, checking out the ever-changing cast. She has nothing but the highest praise for the current Velma and Roxie, Dutch superstar Pia Douwes and Broadway veteran Charlotte D’Amboise: “Pia is just wonderful. I taught her the show when she did it Holland, and she also did a special tour of Fosse over there. I go back to see Charlotte every time she comes in, to see how she’s changed and grown in the role. I find her Roxie fascinating and very inventive.”
HATCHER IN THE WRY
Not all of playwright Jeffrey Hatcher‘s work has been seen in Gotham, so it’s a treat that we’re getting the world premiere of his Murder By Poe, which will be performed by The Acting Company at the Acorn Theater April 29-May 1 and May 10-15. The piece weaves together four of the author’s short stories, all of which have to do with homicide.
“I was commissioned to do something by the company based on 19th-century literature,” Hatcher tells me, “and I thought Poe could be fun. But there was no one story that could be extended for 90 minutes. Poe had the talent for the short sprint, not the long haul. So I connected these stories to Poe’s relationship to his wife. The play is sort of a fever dream that she has while she’s dying. It’s an exploration of what it’s like to live with someone who has Poe’s sort of creative temperament.”
The Big Apple is also getting the world premiere of the movie Stage Beauty, which Hatcher adapted from his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty; it will be shown as part of the TriBeCa Film Festival on May 8. Directed by Sir Richard Eyre (the former artistic director of London’s National Theatre), it stars Billy Crudup as Ned Kynaston, the 17th century British actor who became the toast of London for playing women on the stage. “I came across Ned’s story when I was reading Samuel Pepys Diary,” says Hatcher, “and I thought about what would happen to someone like him once women got on stage. I knew it would make a great story; I was just lucky Tom Stoppard didn’t get there first,” he adds with a laugh. Casting the role of Ned proved a challenge, especially from a physical standpoint: “It really comes down to, ‘Would this actor look pretty in a wig?’ I think, for the film, there were three guys on our list.”
New York is just one of many stops on Hatcher’s itinerary. He was recently in Florida working on the Coconut Grove Playhouse’s production of A Picasso, which continues through May 9. Starring Lucie Arnaz and Peter Michael Goetz, the play, which debuted last year in Philadelphia, focuses on the titular artist’s interrogation by the Nazis. Having made substantial revisions to the script, Hatcher hopes it will hit New York later this year. Meanwhile, Never Gonna Dance, the short-lived Broadway musical for which he wrote the book, will soon heading to Japan. So, why does Hatcher think that New York audiences failed to respond to the show? “I think we aged ourselves out of the market here,” he replies. “In January, I was on a plane to Palm Beach with all these old people and I realized that our entire audience was flying south with me!”
HE WANTS TO LIVE!
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a true New York actor — i.e., he often acts in shows about New York. He first made his mark as Chip in the Public Theater’s On The Town. Subsequently, he appeared in the City Center Encores! production of Hair, was featured in Michael John LaChiusa‘s Little Fish last season, and is now treading the boards in Christopher Shinn‘s urban drama Where Do We Live? at the Vineyard.
Says Ferguson, “I had been so impressed with Chris’s play Four that I approached him through my friend Keith Nobbs [who was in that play], and we’ve been friends since then. When Keith saw this play in London, he called and told me to make sure to get an audition for it in New York. But when I called Chris, he wasn’t ready to discuss it.” Ultimately, Ferguson got to join the cast (which includes Aaron Stanford and Luke MacFarlane) and play multiple roles: “My main part is Billy; he’s a jerk, which is something different for me. There’s this long discussion about welfare, and I have a feeling a lot of people will be thinking what my character says out loud.”
Ferguson hopes to return to the Vineyard next season, this time in a musical: Kirsten Childs‘s The Miracle Brothers, which takes place in 17th-century Brazil. “It’s a really wonderful piece,” he says, “and one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to learn musically. I consider myself an actor who sings. I was in a workshop of the show recently with people like Darius DeHaas and LaChanze and I was just trying to keep up.”
QUIET PLEASE, THERE’S A LADY ON STAGE
Songstress Jane Olivor will perform selections from her new CD/DVD Safe Return at The Town Hall on May 1…Tony winner Debra Monk will do a staged reading of Jeff Whitty‘s new play, Suicide Weather, on May 2 at Makor…The incomparable Bebe Neuwirth‘s tribute to Kurt Weill, Here Lies Jenny, begins a 35-performance run at the Zipper on May 6…Downtown sensations The Wau Wau Sisters launch a two-month run of their act at Ars Nova on May 8…Solo performer Cynthia Adler brings her superb new one-woman show Downloaded — and in Denial to the Stella Adler Studio on West 27th Street for 15 performances beginning May 10…The Queens Company is presenting its all-female version of School for Scandal at the Connelly Theater through May 16.
