/ Dance
Recently noted:
ABIGAIL’S PARTY When first staged in 1977 by Britain’s Mike Leigh—who is better known stateside for his films “Vera Drake,” “Topsy-Turvy,” and “Secrets and Lies,” than for his plays—“Abigail’s Party” was seen as a biting satire dissecting middle-class social mores. Does this party have any life in it today? As shaped by Scott Elliott, artistic director of the New Group, the answer is a jolly good “yes.” The Acorn Theater, 410 W. 42nd St. $51.25 at 212-279-4200. (David Kennerley)
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DRUMSTRUCK The charming and engaging company’s delightfully orchestrated pieces inspire one to hear and marvel at the complexity and beauty of the sounds being made. But don’t look too deep. “Drumstruck” is disappointing, and at some points disquieting, insisting on educating in a manner simplistic and condescending. Dodger Stages, 340 W. 50th St. $61-$66 at 212-239-6200. (Christopher Byrne)
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JERSEY BOYS “Jukebox Musical” has become a term that is generally used derisively by the theatrical cognoscenti. But, with “Jersey Boys,” writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, composer Bob Gaudio, and lyricist Bob Crewe have demonstrated that there might be decent shows to be developed from pre-existing material. (Chris Byrne)
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MR. MARMALADE To see the truth of your life, watch as it is replicated in the play of a child. That’s the central conceit of Noah Haidle’s trenchant and disturbing play, a remarkable work of social criticism that skewers the selfishness, carelessness, and emotional violence that is an endemic part of modern culture. Refracted through the imagination of four-year-old Lucy, we see how cell phones, casual sex, and ignoring one another corrode social structures. Roundabout Theatre Company, The Laura Pels Theatre, 111 W. 46th St. $51.25 or $61.25 at 212-719-1300. (Christopher Byrne)
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ODD COUPLE Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick give command performances in this classic comedy. Expect no surprises as the stars fight it out as two co-habitating, very different characters, the anal-retentive versus the common slob. It is charming though—particularly in the performances by Brad Garrett as Murray the Cop, Lee Wilkof as Vinnie, and Olivia d’Abo and Jessica Stone as the Pigeon sisters. Brooks Atkinson Theatre 256 W. 47th St. $60-$100 at 212-307-4100. (Christopher Byrne)
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RFK It was, Jack Holmes said, “a standard agent’s question.” This was 10 or so years ago. “This agent said, ‘Who do you remind people of?’ and I hemmed and hawed and then she said, ‘Well, you remind me of Robert Kennedy.’ I said, ‘That’s strange, I’m thinking of writing a play about him.’ As soon as I said it I walked out of her office, walked down the street, and said to myself, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do that.’” Written and performed solo by Jack Holmes, directed by Larry Moss. Culture Project, 45 Bleecker St. $30-$55 at 212-307-4100. (Jerry Tallmer)
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SEASCAPE Only Edward Albee, the celebrated 77-year-old playwright, can craft a scenario where two giant English-speaking sea lizards, along with a retired human couple, contemplate the nature of love, commitment, evolution, and other very deep issues—and have the audience riveted, tittering, and nodding in recognition. The Pulitzer Prize winning play is deceptively simple, taking place on a secluded swath of sand dune over the course of a late afternoon. Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St. Through Jan. 8. $66.25 – $86.25 at 212-239-6200. (David Kennerley)
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SWEENEY TODD Rich in storytelling, gripping in intellectual scope, and performed by a superlative cast, this quintessential 20th century musical, with book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, has been reconceived for today’s world. Intimate, gripping, and more darkly disturbing than previous productions, it is political theater of the first order in the guise of a seat-edge storytelling experience. The Eugene O’Neill Theater. $35-$100 at 212-239-6200. (Christopher Byrne)
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THE ROOM AND CELEBRATION “The Room”, one of Harold Pinter’s first plays to see an audience, is on a double-bill with a far more recent work, “Celebration,” a quite different cup of tea. “Celebration” (2000) is set in a fancy restaurant in London, but it is is an altogether weird animal. Partly it is, or seems, Pinter getting back at all the quick-money, big-money elites, snobs, yobs, and bullies and their women that he came up against and was put down by his whole life. And partly it is a bizarre, anarchic, loony-tunes attack on cultural snobbism of an equal and opposite sort. Atlantic Theater, W. 20th St. Through January 8. 212-239-6200. (Jeremy Tallmer)
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THE WOMAN IN WHITE Andrew Lloyd Webber has written what is easily his worst score ever. It is full of unresolved melodic lines and soaring chords but there’s not a valid emotion in any of it. The only things to be said of David Zippel’s tattered doggerel presented as lyrics is that they are as immature as the music—full of groaning, plodding rhymes and forced cadences. The focus is on the technological achievement, and while it’s impressive it does not serve the story. Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway. $25-$100 at 212-307-4100. (Christopher Byrne).
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