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The Apple Tree (***1/4) -- After ascending to bankability in Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth isn't reinventing Broadway musicals so much as reinventing the Broadway musical star. The triptych of short tuneful comedies by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick will interrupt its limited run this week (Jan. 19-20) as Chenoweth makes a concert appearance, "Live at the Met," this Friday.
A little further down the road -- would you believe 2010? -- Chenoweth is slated to make her Metropolitan Opera stage debut in John Corigliano's Ghosts of Versailles.
Meanwhile, Chenoweth isn't the only reason to snap up a ticket for Apple Tree. She is ably supported in the opening story, "The Diary of Adam and Eve," by Brian D'Arcy James as Adam and Marc Kudisch as the leather-clad Snake. But after the curtain descends on this adaptation of Mark Twain's drolleries, the 4-foot-11-inch spitfire is the chief reason for sticking around for "The Lady or the Tiger?" and "Passionella." Closes March 11.
The Little Dog Laughed (***) -- No doubt about it, Julie White gives an exquisitely sharp portrait of Diane, a manipulative Hollywood agent who connives to keep her hottest client, Mitch, safely in the closet. Despite her own lesbian leanings. Otherwise, I found this slick Tinseltown satire to be overpraised.
If this is the backlot scoop on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, playwright Douglas Carter Beale needed to heap on more salt and vinegar -- and venom. That said, Tom Everett Scott as Mitch and Johnny Galecki as his male escort give earnest spot-on performances that never threaten White's comedy dominion. Closes Feb. 18.
Grey Gardens (**3/4) -- If you're a Christine Ebersole fanatic, or if you harbor an unquenchable curiosity for all things even peripherally Kennedy, you may be able to work up some genuine enthusiasm for this dreary, static adaptation of the Maysles Brothers' documentary. Not qualifying on either count, I found myself questioning the critical kudos.
Boasting a script by Doug Wright, these Gardens are nicely manicured. Ebersole will certainly earn Tony Award consideration for her portrayal of self-absorbed Edith Bouvier Beale, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric aunt. After intermission, Ebersole switches to the other major role, "Little" Edie Beale, the tightly wrapped reclusive victim of "Big" Edie's overprotectiveness.
Gardens itself is being touted for a Tony. Should it beat out Spring Awakening for the prize, I'll demand that the Warren Commission reconvene.
High Fidelity (**1/2) -- Centering on the belated maturation of vinyl record shop owner Rob (Will Chase), David Lindsay-Abaire's script had the misfortune of sporting a recurring Top 5 theme. The Times critic took aim at this irritating tick and enshrined Fidelity among a makeshift list of Top 5 "All-Time Most Forgettable Musicals."
Fair assessment. This genial, utterly conventional musical with diverting songs by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green may indeed nestle at an exact midpoint of mediocrity. Far from the best musical ever to hit Broadway and perhaps equally far from the worst. Altogether gone, however, on Dec. 18. Just 11 days after opening.
Tough town.
Off-Broadway
The Voysey Inheritance (***1/2) -- David Mamet has streamlined Harley Granville Barker's intricate exploration of a reputable family whose wealth is based on shady business practices. The surgery is mostly a success, leaving us with a vestigial Voysey or two from the 1905 original but keeping us focused on the Enron relevance with bristling intensity.
Fritz Weaver lends stature to this Atlantic Theatre Company production as the ailing Voysey patriarch, but it's Michael Stuhlberg who shines brightest as Voysey's preternaturally ethical son and business partner, Edward. Steering between obligation to his clients and safeguarding the family's honor, Edward is a fascinating, sometimes overly persnickety study.
Atlantic has sent Spring Awakening and The Lieutenant of Inishmore to Broadway within the past 10 months. Don't be shocked if Voysey follows the same path. Extended (for a third time) through March 25.
Evil Dead The Musical (***1/4) -- Granted, George Reinblatt's merciless send-up of this Hollywood horror isn't wedded to a musical score of equal distinction. And yes, the late-night cult cachet that Evil Dead aspires to is frankly ripped off from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
But outfitted with its undeniably original Splatter Zone, ED is s-o-o-o-o much fun, a happening with its own twisted identity. Hinton Battle and Christopher Bond have co-directed and choreographed with absolutely inspired crassness, grossness, cheesiness and bloody excess. The design team is altogether on the same page, from the elaborately rigged set to the alien makeup to the chainsaw carnage.
All this wedded to a loutish bestiality that even death doesn't extinguish. I believe it's Scott who solemnly observes, after his slutty girlfriend's untimely demise, "I've got some Shelley on my shoe!"