Theater News

Good News

Frank Langella and George Clooney (!) open the New York Film Festival. Plus: Oedipus at Palm Springs, Tom Wopat, and Eric Comstock.

Frank Langella
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)
Frank Langella
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)

The New York Film Festival, the annual beacon of all things celluloid, has just announced its opening night selection for its 43rd edition: Good Night, and Good Luck, which is co-written and directed by George Clooney. The film
takes its title from the famous signature sign-off of CBS-TV newsman Edward R. Murrow who was part of a dedicated team of broadcast journalists — a relatively new breed in the early 1950s — who took on the red-baiting Senator Joesph McCarthy, the man behind the infamous House UnAmerican Activities Committee.

In addition to Clooney (who’s playing producer Fred Friendly), the film co-stars such theatrical personages as Tony Award winner Frank Langella (as CBS founder William Paley), David Strathairn (as Murrow), Patricia Clarkson, and Jeff Daniels. Also in the cast are such superior actors as Robert Downey Jr., Tate Donovan, Reed Diamond, and Ray Wise. The NYFF opens on September 23 and runs through October 9.

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Oh, Brothers!

As its title suggests, Oedipus at Palm Springs, written and performed by The Five Lesbian Brothers, is not a slavish updating of the famous Greek tragedy, but rather a modern work inspired by the original play. So, don’t expect anyone to put out their own eyes. (But there is still plenty of “putting out.”) Two couples, all friends, meet at a lesbians-only resort. One couple, Fran and Con, is trying to re-ignite their sex life and the other couple, Prin and Terri, is at a point of high passion. The fifth character, Joni, a blind resort manager, is our contemporary soothsayer. In ways both funny and heartbreaking, all five women try to help each other out. But wouldn’t you know it, fate has its own agenda and dark, troubling secrets — with far-reaching results — are going to be revealed before the play is over.

Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Lisa Kron  in Oedipus at Palm Springs
(Photo © Joan Marcus)
Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Lisa Kron
in Oedipus at Palm Springs
(Photo © Joan Marcus)

For all its ambition, Oedipus at Palm Springs could be funnier; nonetheless, the overall impact is surprisingly pungent. Sophisticated direction by Leigh Silverman, an exquisite set design by David Korins, and (despite plenty of nudity) smartly conceived costume designs by Miranda Hoffman all contribute to the production’s success. And while some of the acting could be stronger, we’re particularly impressed by Lisa Kron as Con, a sex-starved woman looking for answers, and Dominique Dibbell as Prin, a swaggering butch gal who pretends to have all the answers. In a summer that has produced little in the way of good, original drama, it must be fate that has finally brought us Oedipus at Palm Springs.

Meanwhile, The A-Train Plays, conceived and produced by Lawrence Feeney, recently got on a new track with their first full-length production, Manhattan Bound, a musical written, scored, rehearsed, and let loose on the world with a gestation period of just eight days! Of course, speed isn’t everything. In the end, the show was really nothing more than an impressive exercise, but it gave composer/lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld and librettist Erica Silberman a unique opportunity to have their work put up on its feet. It also gave audiences the opportunity to see talented actors flex their theatrical muscles – and create some mighty fine performances conjured virtually out of a combination of thin air and craft. All of them deserve recognition: Erica Ash, Lawrence Feeney, Julie Garnye, Cynthia Pierce, Ron Stetson, Tracie Thoms and Kevin Townley.

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Nighlife Notes

Tom Wopat
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)
Tom Wopat
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)

Tom Wopat has achieved a unique crossover popularity that no longer has much to do with his years as a television star. He’s now a bona fide stage star of both musicals (Annie Get Your Gun) and dramas (Glengarry Glenn Ross), as well as a highly regarded recording artist and jazz singer. So it’s no surprise that Wopat packed Birdland last Monday for one of his periodic singing gigs around town. He offered a rich, eclectic program that mixed his smooth jazz style with a sexy crooning cool — and the result was a musical Viennese table of sweet sounds. He dipped into a pool of musical theater songs from West Side Story and 42nd Street, and he wrapped his voice around a couple of Jimmy Webb tunes, a composer whom Wopat interprets especially well. Catch him the next time he performs.

We always like Eric Comstock, who’s appearing the next two Tuesday nights (with his special guest, wife Barbara Fasano) at Danny’s Skylight Room. But we like him best when he unearths lost or forgotten tunes; he has a gift for both finding them and giving them new life And sitting behind the piano, singing an obscure saloon song like “If You Could See Me Now,” Comstock is the epitome of sad acceptance. This popular cabaret singer is also particularly sensational at sly, giving you that Cheshire Cat grin as he toys with your expectations with his uniquely syncopated version of “Mountain Greenery.” Not everything in this act succeeds — but you’ve got to admire his courage for taking on songs like “Tonight” and “Once Upon a Time” that were not written for his modest, crooning voice. He cleverly arranges (and changes) them to suit his vocal limitations. Sometimes he comes up with a mesmerizing, original piece of work. Sometimes, you wish he hadn’t gone near it.

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