On Broadway- The Front Page

One of the hottest shows on Broadway this season is the revival of the play The Front Page. It has a powerhouse cast including Nathan Lane, John Slattery, and John Goodman. Set in 1928 Chicago, the comedic play takes place in the press room in the Criminal Courts Building and revolves around a group of newspaper reporters covering the upcoming hanging execution of an accused murderer.

Given that the feeling about today's media is not one of trust, this play certainly resonates with today's audiences. Truth isn't necessarily of the utmost importance, but getting the scoop is.

This is a show where for me the performances were more enjoyable than the show itself. Nathan Lane gives his usual larger-than-life performance as Walter Burns, the editor and boss of John Slattery's star reporter Hildy Johnson. Lane doesn't show up onstage until Act II, but he makes the most of his time.

The actors who really drew my attention included Tony Award-winner Jefferson Mays as a fussy, germaphobic reporter tormented by his fellow reporters, TV veteran Holland Taylor as Johnson's impatient future mother-in-law, Micah Stock as a police officer of German decent, and Sherie Rene Scott as the doomed man's girlfriend.

Mays gets a laugh every time he opens his mouth and his physicality is spot-on as always. Taylor owns the stage whenever she bursts into the scene. I saw Stock last year in his Broadway debut in It's Only A Play, where he earned a Tony nomination and also starred with Nathan Lane. Once again he upstages veteran performers with his impeccable timing and comedic instincts. He has a bright future indeed.

Scott plays a more serious role and you might think that would be jarring in a comedy, but she pulls it off beautifully. Although she is more dramatic than comedic, you cannot take your eyes off her when she is on the stage.

It was fun to see Robert Morse and John Slattery, two stars of TV's Mad Men, reunited.

The Front Page has a limited run, and it is difficult to find discounted tickets, but this is a show worth seeing for the performances of so many talented actors. You can find more information about the show here.

On Broadway- A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

I tried two times to see the 2014 Tony Award-winning musical A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder. The first time I bought a ticket, the brilliant Jefferson Mays, who plays nine roles in the show was out with a back injury. The second time I tried to buy a ticket, I found that the regular Wednesday matinee was cancelled because they added an extra Sunday evening show on Columbus Day weekend.

Just when I thought I wouldn't get a chance to see it, I saw that the Actor's Fund was selling tickets to the show a few days before it closed. I guess the third time is the charm.

The show was fabulous, so funny and charming, and the performances were fantastic. Bryce Pinkham plays Monty, a young destitute man in 1909 who discovers that he is 9th in line to be an heir to a fortune. If only the eight ahead of him were dead...

The rest of the show is Monty scheming to murder the eight, all played brilliantly by Jefferson Mays in a phenomenally physical performance. He is just a comic genius!

Pinkham is fabulous as well, and what a wonderful singing voice he has. The musical highlight of the show is a song he sings as he strives to keep his mistress and fiancee from discovering each other. Scarlett Strallen as the mistress has the showier role and she makes the most of it. Catherine Walker also shines as the fiancee.

Pinkham and Mays were both nominated for Tonys and it is clear why. I loved this show, it was a perfect anecdote to the winter blues and it was clear that the rest of the audience agreed with me.

If A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder comes to your town on tour, go see it. You won't regret it.


Here is the video from their Tony performance.