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NY Theater: “The Talk of the Town” is boring gossip and chitchatAlgonquin writers in musical sketches are cranky and shallowBy Lucy KomisarThe Algonquin crowd of writers was known for fast and clever repartee in conversation and in their articles, which appeared first in "Vanity Fair" and then in "The New Yorker." And there are some smart lines thrown off in "The Talk of the Town," the musical sketch play by Ginny Redington and Tom Dawes being presented at the Algonquin's Oak Room. The problem is the thin, oddly skewed script that takes up the spaces between the quips and bons mots. If Redington and Dawes are to be believed, the writers who gathered at the Algonquin Roundtable for famous lunches during the 1920s were a bunch of cranky, shallow, insipid characters who exhibited insecurity, drunkenness, egotism, nastiness and barely a hint of literary brilliance. Writers may drink and sleep around, but that's not what made the Algonquin writers important. Yes, they were full of themselves, but why do we care about them? This play offers a dumbed down version of their intelligence and their lives, which involved much more than drinking gin and wise-cracking. They were important creative people of the Left, and they shared a political commitment. Edna Ferber's 1924 novel "Show Boat," attacked American racism by including a story of interracial marriage and the hostility that provokes. Playwright Marc Connelly wrote "Green Pastures," biblical stories told from a black perspective. Poet and essayist Dorothy Parker left her estate to the NAACP. There's a lot of talk about how hard it is to write. Hardly a novel aperçu. Playwright Robert Sherwood (a little too wide-eyed Adam MacDonald) starts nearly every speech with the declaration that he's got to write a play. It isn't mentioned in the script, but he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the anti-war play, "Idiot's Delight." As close as we get to the substance of the work, not exactly uninteresting these days, is that he was very affected by his service in the war -- World War I, if we are counting.
Kristin Maloney as Parker has a mellifluous voice though not much dry sophistication. I enjoyed Rob Seitelman's walrus-like portrayal of critic Alexander Woollcott. His solo, "The Critic," was the best number of the evening. Chris Weikel gave a persuasive albeit one-note performance as a soused humorist/actor/critic Robert Benchley.
The performers sing well and try hard. The music by Redington and Dawes is pleasant if not original. Director Dan Wackerman does the best he can with a small stage placed in the middle of the long, narrow Oak Room, which has most patrons viewing from the sides. I was seated at a table next to a high spinet piano which blocked full view of the stage, though the maître d' had assured me the sightline would be fine. The pianist later told me that a low piano had been replaced with a high one, because the latter was provided for free by the famous name manufacturer. It was a bad bargain. The best thing about the evening was dinner. The Oak Room's salmon with mango and gorgonzola-encrusted beef will win praise from any palate, and fresh crab and avocado is a tasty starter. The three-course prix fixe is $40. “The Talk of the Town.” By Ginny Redington and Tom Dawes. Directed by Dan Wackerman. Music director Mark Janas. Starring Jeffrey Biering, Donna Coney Island, Adam MacDonald, Kristin Maloney, Rob Seitelman, Chris Weikel, Stephen Wilde. Peccadillo Theater Company, Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44 St. Sundays at 7:30 (dinner from 6) Mondays at 8:30 (dinner from 7). No shows 11/21 & 12/12. Through December 31, 2005. $60 plus $20 minimum or $50 dinner. (212) 840-6800 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com. http://www.algonquinhotel.com. by Tom Dawes. |
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Parker (Kristin Maloney), the doyenne of the group, if
there was one, is portrayed as being interested in little besides sex: "All I
need is a place to lay my hat and a few friends." And about having an abortion:
"I knew I shouldn't have put all my eggs in one bastard." One would hardly
gather she had other significant interests. Were Redington and Dawes afraid to
deal with the real concerns that moved the Algonquin writers?
Playwrights George Kaufman (a realistic and intense Jeffrey
Biering) and Marc Connelly (Stephen Wilde) display nothing of the genius that
got them their Pulitzers. They mostly trade nasty gripes and vituperation. Edna
Ferber, as portrayed by Donna Coney Island (sic), seems more like a meddling but
good-natured aunt than a literary powerhouse.
