Living for the Moment

A much-maligned revisal of Athol Fugard’s People Are Living There is limping toward an early exit from the Peter Norton Space on July 3. This production of a little-seen work by the famous South African playwright, directed by long-time Fugard associate, Suzanne Shepherd, was not kindly received by the press and audiences stayed away by the truckload; more midgets could fit in a Volkswagen than there were audience members on the matinee that we attended.

One expects an anti-apartheid play from Fugard, so when this story unfolds in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1969 and the characters are a handful of white folks, your first inclination is to check the Playbill to make sure you’re in the right theater. You are; the action of the play has been transposed to Jersey from South Africa, but it was never about apartheid. Rather, it’s about the battles we all fight in the hope of finding happiness. The landlord Millie (O’Mara Leary), the play’s driving force, is upset that her steady boyfriend (and tenant of 10 years) is stepping out with another woman, so she decides to show him that she can be happy without him. To prove her point, she gets three other tenants — a reclusive pseudo-intellectual (Larry Silverberg), a semi-retarded delivery boy (Ben Rauch), and his philandering young wife (Emma Myles) — to help her celebrate her 50th birthday with a party that even Bertolt Brecht would find depressing.

In its every physical detail (scenic design, costumes, lighting), the play seems naturalistic — except it isn’t. The characters exist in a world of heightened reality; the plot, dialogue, and character interactions fall somewhere between stilted and artful. Unfortunately, the action lumbers on for more than an hour as the characters tediously establish themselves and their conflicts — until suddenly, almost unexpectedly, the 90-minute show hits emotional pay dirt.

You have to slog through a lot of exposition to get to that blessed ending and, for many, it simply won’t be worth it. But if you don’t mind suffering for your art, People Are Living There may very well end up surprising you as much as it surprised us.

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Brown Sugar

After the critical success of Parade, the show’s young composer, Jason Robert Brown, looked like the savior of Broadway. Words and music flowed from him with dramatic intensity; there was variety, versatility, wit, and passion in his work. While Brown has been writing fruitfully ever since, nothing like Parade has come again. The direction in which he’s taking his career has come into sharp focus now that we’ve seen his show at Au Bar, Jason Robert Brown: Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes, which celebrates the just-released CD of the same title.

The music that Brown’s writing now is decidedly more pop than musical theater in style. While his work is still very much lyric-driven, his music and arrangements have become one-dimensional. With few exceptions, every song he performs at Au Bar — most of them from the new CD — develops at a similar rhythmic gallop. At first, the musical choice is dramatic, exciting, even thrilling for its energy and drive; but when Brown keeps going there, song after song, the relentless beat becomes predictable and even a bit boring.

Charismatic and still youthfully exuberant in his singing and playing, Brown is someone whom the spotlight adores — and vice versa. His patter is an engaging mix of insider dish (he explains why he didn’t get involved in the doctoring of the now defunct Mambo Kings) and easy charm. Brown has a self-deprecatory sense of humor that only partially obscures his considerable ego; on the other hand, that ego drives some of his stronger numbers, such as “Getting Out” and “I’m in Bizness.” For our money, his best number is “Nothing in Common,” a song about his lifelong relationship with his brother.

Jason Robert Brown continues at Au Bar through July 3, after which the venue will cease operation as a cabaret/jazz club. Stay tuned for word about its future.

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The Last of the Brits

The Brits Off Broadway festival comes to a close on July 3 as well, which gives you just three days to catch Unsuspecting Susan — a one-person show starring Celia Imrie, written by Stewart Permutt and directed by Lisa Forrell.

At first, it appears to be a cozy little slice-of-life piece about a well-to-do Englishwoman. We hear about her friends and neighbors and her commitment to the local community theater. You think the play is charming but slight — and then comes the sharp left turn where class meets catastrophe and motherhood meets mayhem. Through it all, Imrie gives a steely, restrained, and masterful performance. Unsuspecting Susan is unsettling and perhaps a little uneven toward the end, but it is never less than startling

Oh, how we’ll miss the Brits until next year! And here’s one suggestion for the good folks at 59E59 Theaters: If it’s feasible, why not start the festival after all the Tony Award hoopla has died down and let it run through the end of July? That way, audiences will glom onto it right from the start.

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[To contact the Siegels directly, e-mail them at siegels@theatermania.com.]