KHAN!!! THE MUSICAL!
A parody trek-tacular
Co-Written, composed, and lyrics by
BRENT BLACK
Co-conceived and additional materials by
ALINCA MORGAN
Directed by JOHN LAMPE

Review by Nicole Jesson

To quote the gentleman across the aisle, “This show has no right to be this good.”

And yet, dear reader, it is.

There is no doubt in my mind that Gene Roddenberry is rolling in his grave – with laughter. The show is pure joy. If you know The Wrath of Khan, or at the very least OG Trek and any musical theatre, you will love this show. The Creatives have boldly gone where they probably shouldn’t, and we are all the better for it.

The cast is fantastic. I am absolutely shocked to see Off-Broadway “Debut” next to the names Julian Manjerico and Zachary Kropp, Commander Data and Khan respectively. I’m not sure if Julian is Joel Gray playing Data or Brent Spinner as Cabaret’s MC, but his performance is stellar either way. Kropp takes a dash of Ricardo Montalban on a Tim Curry Frankenfurter and soars to new heights with his powerful vocals. And then, there’s Shyaporn Theerakulstit – learn that name. His performance as Admiral James T. Kirk channeled William Shatner so profoundly that I’d like to ask Mr. Shatner if he woke up this morning after having a strange dream about being in Les Miz?

I would be remiss if I did not touch upon the remainder of the talented crew of the Enterprise: Clayton Matthews who skillfully plays both helmsmen, Crystal Marie Stewart who delightfully gets to say everything Nichelle Nichols was thinking, Laura Whittenberger who embodies Saavick’s half Vulcan / half ingenue perfectly, Lindsay M.E. Newton bounces from Bones to Scotty and back again with aplomb, and lastly, Maxwell Nausbaum who gives a dazzling display of Spock’s tapping meditation all the while maintaining Spock’s expressionless demeanor.

Do not overthink this! It’s just plain fun. You will laugh. You will groan. You will think, “Oh no, you didn’t!?!” You will giggle and sing along to the perfectly selected pre-show / intermission music. And folks, I am purposely leaving out most of the best bits, so I don’t ruin it for you. Proceed at warp speed to the Players Theatre on MacDougal, grab a coffee and a pastry at Cafe Ruggerio as you wait in line, and then sit back and take in the stars. 

P.S. Jolene Richardson, costumer, if you are responsible for that Greatest American Hero wig, you deserve an award. Merritt Butrick would be honored.

Off-Broadway’s Players Theatre (115 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012) | May 4 – June 4 | http://www.khaniscoming.com

Hidden
Written and Directed by Marc Weiner
Presented by the Playwright’s Gate at the 36th Street Theatre

Review by Nicole Jesson

Jewish culture has a rich history of storytelling. The celebration of Passover is marked by a seder in which the story of the exodus from Egypt is told. It’s an oral tradition passed down for generations. Many of the greatest playwrights of the last 100 years have been Jewish: Mel Brooks, Oscar Hammerstein, Harold Pinter, Aaron Sorkin and Tom Stoppard to name a few. Not to mention countless television and film artists. In fact, it’s the subject of the 1988 non-fiction An Empire of Their Own and a production number in Spamalot.

Hidden tells the story of two Polish families, one Jewish and one Catholic, during and after WWII. Two Columbia University students meet when a campus protest of the VietNam War turns violent. While David Epstein (Michael Loprestone) has been raised on the story of his family, Nina Rezki (Eileen Sugameli) is completely in the dark. Neither knows the connection between their families, but their fathers do.

When Television started out, it was shot like a stage play – one set, one camera, one angle. You saw the entire set, the same way you look at the stage. As the medium evolved, multiple cameras and editing made it easy to increase the number of scenes and locations. Plays have tried to follow suit – not always successfully. Yes, it’s easy to accomplish, even in a production focused on realism, if you’re throwing money at it. But for simpler productions, it’s hard to marry realism with constant set changes. The set of Hidden is rudimentary at best – which would be 100% fine if it weren’t so cumbersome for the actors performing on it. I’m sure with some ingenuity, the heavy, black diner chairs and small plastic folding table could be exchanged for cubes that the actors can leave in place throughout the show, or at most, move minimally. Watching the actors frantically move items in half-light between scenes, when constantly jumping locations just drags down the pace of the show. And while a sound designer is credited (for one gun shot?), there’s nothing done to cover the changes, move through time periods or set the tone.

To be clear, while the story is engaging, something must be done to cut the running time of the show. The number of scenes before intermission felt endless. The distraction of props that were being half used – full wine bottles we pretend to pour into plastic glasses that have no weight, set on a tablecloth at least 2x too big for the folding table draped too much on one side so we become frightened that one careless gesture could send the whole thing toppling over steals focus from a very smartly written scene showing the two families sitting down to dinner. Why have plates, knives and forks, when no one even pretends to eat? Save the realism for later productions. No one in your audience will mind losing the chairs and the props, if it means shaving time off, focusing on the scene work and telling the story.

A clear example of this is the work of Emily Blake. Ms. Blake plays several roles alternating between them with nothing more than her voice, accent and use of a few scarves. She is clear, and engaging in each role. We don’t need more from her to convey the story. If each character/actor could be freed of set changes and the props, I’m sure we’d see this production come alive in new ways. 

The old adage, “Less is More” applies to this show. There is a really interesting story to be told in Hidden. And with some adjustments, it could be revealed in this production.

Playwright’s Gate at the 36th Street Theatre | Through Sunday, May 28th | www.HiddenThePlay.com

Misconceptions by Steve Wangh
Directed By Jessica Burr, Produced By Blessed Unrest

Review by Nicole Jesson

In January of 1941, Lady in the Dark by Moss Hart, Irving Berlin and Kurt Weill would come to Broadway. At that point, the US was not taking part in the War in Europe. Much of Weill’s catalog has a political intent, even if passed off as a fluffy musical with big production numbers. So there’s little doubt that The Saga of Jenny which states, “Jenny and her saga proves that you are gaga, if you don’t keep sitting on the fence,” was commentary on how ridiculous America’s stance was. Later that year, the Lend-Lease Act would be signed into law in March, but the US would not be drawn into war until December 7th by the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

In 2022, America changed its mind on established law putting the health and well being of roughly half of her population in jeopardy, and taking from them bodily autonomy. The artists are speaking again.

Misconceptions is a play about abortion. In the 2022 Midterm Elections, abortion was the number one issue for voters.  Abortion isn’t an issue people tend to waffle on. They are clearly on one side or the other – and if a politician appears to be on the fence, it is usually an attempt to not alienate a large group of voters. In the course of the play, the main character who discovers she is pregnant is on the fence – not in regards to morality – she just hasn’t made up her mind.

And so the audience begins this journey with Harriet (portrayed by Hilary Dennis). We travel through her life during a trip to NYC with her young daughter as she appears in Vogue and has her new exhibit opening at MoMA. We meet her ex-boyfriend, Jorge, (played by Sean Mana) who is also the father of her daughter, and the source of this new pregnancy. We experience her mother, (played Ethelyn Friend) through phone calls, voicemails and an emotional visit in celebration of her exhibit. By far the strongest voice in Harriet’s life is Darcelle (brought to life by Celli Pitt), her friend, manager and perhaps conscience. Julie Becker, Rich Brown and Perri Yaniv round out the ensemble playing a variety of characters including the Greek Chorus.

While Harriet makes it very clear to the audience in the beginning that this is a fiction though some of the people portrayed are real, we hear the playwright speak through her. When Harriet tells Jorge that he made his choices when he cheated and when he didn’t wear a condom, I felt like the playwright, Steve Wangh, wanted us to know that was where he felt mens’ decision-making ended on the subject. When Celli tells Harriet that she’s lucky because she’s a white woman with the means to fly to a blue state and have an abortion if she wants one, and that even lesbians can have unwanted pregnancies, the playwright is telling us some of the issues that exist, but have no bearing on his character and her decision making.

Harriet appears to have all the time in the world to come to a decision. She will not be rushed. She decides to interview people about abortion and turn it into art.

When you arrive in the theater, you will find the audience ¾ of the way around the stage. The setting reminded me of Urban Outfitters with outfits on hangers hanging on the wall, pairs of shoes scattered around, and empty picture frames left here and there. While some of those outfits will adorn the actors, some will join the Greek Chorus looming behind the audience. Sadly, once worn, many of the garments do not find their way back to the chorus and just litter the stage instead. 

The staging begins with stylized movement defining the beginning of the journey Harriet is going on. While this fades to a more naturalized style over the course of the play, there is a particularly excellent “interview” with Perri Yaniv and Rich Brown which reminded me of the Open Theater’s The Serpent. The production is currently 120 minutes with a 10 minute intermission, but I really felt something was lost by cutting the work in 2 halves. I wanted to stay with the characters and the urgency of the situation which was somehow lost during the intermission.

Misconceptions is a play in need of an audience. I overheard one couple across the aisle, “I think I’m following this”. The production needs to learn and grow from the reaction it receives. “Is the intended message coming across?” And even, “has my message changed since starting this project?” “I love this moment but does it add to the whole?” I am glad to have seen Misconceptions in its infancy, and look forward to seeing what it becomes.

SPOILER ALERT

Making a decision about a pregnancy is urgent. A clock is set in motion which will end in 9 months if not sooner. A woman, especially depending upon where she lives, does not have a lot of time to make a decision. Harriet briefly hopes a miscarriage will take away her choice – make her passive in the process. Yes, Harriet is “lucky”, but how she has the time to perform at MoMA, have pending engagements and begin contacting and interviewing various people about abortion, either their experience or opinion, just feels like a longer project than . . . the time you have to make up your mind and act on the decision. I applaud the playwright’s ability to not make this a morality play, yet how after we take this journey, is there no decision? How is Harriet still on the fence when the play ends? Indecision, inaction becomes a choice. Perhaps, having no ending is a metaphor for us not having the right to decide for someone else.

122CC Theater | (Thu-Sun) through June 3 | https://blessedunrest.ticketleap.com/misconceptions.