King Lear by William Shakespeare at the Public Theater. Starring Kevin Kline, Michael Cerveris, Larry Bryggman, Logan Marshall-Green, Angela Pierce, Kristin Bush, Laura Odeh, Philip Goodwin, directed by James Lapine, with incidental music by Stephen Sondheim and Michael Starobin.
We saw "King Lear" on Saint Patrick's Day. This was a particularly brutal Bridge and Tunnel Test: the crowds pouring into the city (we took the train since we could barely get out of our driveway due to a foot of snow on the ground) were enormous, rowdy, the trains were crammed, and it was even difficult to make it out of a jammed up Penn Station. But the return trip was worse -- the crowds were full of ill-behaved drunks, and in Newark, the train had to be delayed so that dozens of swarming policemen could remove the most egregious ones. Our friends agreed with us that the only thing worse than enduring such a trip after a great performance was to take it after a bad performance.
We needn't have worried - this was a "King Lear" worth the most arduous commute - worth braving all of the drunks in New York. Here was a "King Lear" to savor, a rare theatrical treat, not only memorable for the magnficent portrayal of Lear by Kevin Kline, but for the entire cast, the staging, and the magical music composed by Stephen Sondheim and Michael Sarobin. Seldom does every element in a modern Shakespeare performance coalesce as it has at the Public Theater. Much has been written about Kline's assumption of Lear. The New York Times critic found it disappointing, but Hilton Als in the New Yorker felt it belonged in the "Pantheon." I would agree wholeheartedly with Als. I've seen many famous Lears over the years including Lee J. Cobb (towering, unforgettable), Brian Cox (minimal, disappointing), Chrisopher Plummer (solid, moving, well grounded) and Kevin Kline ranks at the top with Cobb. Here at last was a Lear who made music of Shakespeare's couplets - we haven't heard this kind of mellifluous cadence in Shakespeare other than on old recordings by the likes of Robeson, Gielgud, Evans, Richardson, Tree. Kevin Kline is a more vigorous Lear than we are used to, he looks great, but this only makes his ultimate broken hearted collapse and dissolution the more shocking. The rest of the cast is unusually fine. Michael Cerveris is tremendous as Kent, Philip Goodwin gave one of the best bitter comic Shakespeare performances I've seen as the Fool, and of the three doomed daughters, Angela Pierce was particularly venemous while Laura Odeh's squeels of squeemish horror and delight at plucking out the old Earl of Gloucester's eyes gave us a shiver. Larry Bryggman was an excellent Earl of Gloucester and his scenes with his son Edgar played by Brian Avers were impressive. As Edmund, Logan Marshall-Green was a sardonic villain who commanded the stage. All of the cast spoke Shakespeare's lines beautifully and with ease thereby enabling the audience to comfortably settle into the play.
The staging was inspired - the storm scene was harrowing and Lapine's inspiration of having the three daughters appear to the addled Lear as little girls was very effective. The younger selves of his children return at the end lending added poignancy to the tragedy. The live music by Sondheim and Starobin was the best I've heard for a modern Shakespeare performance. What a treat to have the greatest living master of musical theater provide music for a Shakespeare play! Everything was working at the Public Theater on Saint Patrick's Day. It is very seldom that star actors present Shakespeare in New York with this level of success for, unlike London, top notch Shakespeare performances in New York are surprisingly rare events and are thus must-see events. Even though we staggered home at near 2-am, we were happy campers. We had seen something special - thrilling, unforgettable. King Lear at the Public Theater gets a high mark in our Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test: A- it's a must see!

My Fair Lady, a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Avery Fischer Hall At Lincoln Center; Rob Fisher conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. With Kelli O'Hara, Kelsey Grammer, Brian Dennehy and Charles Kimbrough.
Readers of the Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test are urged to run and obtain any tickets remaining for the precious few performances of this weekend of this historic all-star revival. Not since the original smash Broadway production of 1956 has "My Fair Lady" received a performance of this caliber. I've seen the New York revival (starring Richard Chamberlain and Melissa Errico) and the wildly successful National Theatre performances in London (with both casts) and they were not even close to what has been accomplished here. First of all, the score is played probably as it never has been by the incomparable New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This is a complex operetta score and hearing it played on this level is a revelation. In the title role, Kelli O'Hara sings this very difficult vocal role as well as the legendary Julie Andrews and her acting is equally fine. After what O'Hara accomplished in "Pajama Game," she now takes a role that is completely different stylistically and vocally and nails it. The audience went wild for her as they did for the amazing star turn of Brian Dennehy as Alfred P. Doolittle. Kelsey Grammer is a delight as Henry Higgins as is Charles Kimbrough as Colonel Pickering. All star casting includes Marni Nixon and Meg Bussert in small roles and they are both wonderful. The conducting by Rob Fisher confirms his place as perhaps the finest Broadway conductor of our time and the staging (not an easy task in this cumbersome venue) by Peggy Hickey and David Ives is inspired. Pure champaigne delight - this is a must see! Our Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test grade for "My Fair Lady" is A+

Mary Rose, a play by. J. M. Barrie. Vineyard Theatre, starring Paige Howard, Noah Bean, Keir Dullea, directed by Tina Landau. In over forty years of theater going in New York and in London, I have never had the luck to see a play by J. M. Barrie. Now remembered solely for "Peter Pan" and for the movie "Finding Neverland," Barrie had many hits to his credit including "The Admirable Crichton" and "The Little Minister." "Mary Rose" is a play I was not at all familiar with. "Mary Rose" deals with the past, the present and time itself, and with death, loss and recovery. It is a warm and lovely play, a little creaky in its center perhaps, but profound and unforgettable. Typical of Barrie's work, it's superbly written and has a fey female character at its heart, which is charmingly enacted by Paige Howard who like her more famous sister Bryce Dallas, is also a beautiful redhead. On the day we saw the play, Richard Short who normally plays Harry, was ill and his place was taken at the last minute by Noah Bean. Bean who has a more distinguished resume perhaps than Short was no understudy. He used a script, but so skillfully that he made his performance possibly the most eloquent of the afternoon. This was a triumphant theatrical rescue. The Director, Tina Landau, in a brilliant twist, has added a narrator, played by the expert, Keir Dullea who reads Barrie's colorful stage directions. This is a plus and adds an "Our Town" like nostalgia to the play, and to its benefit. "Mary Rose"runs through March 25 unless it is extended. This is a rare opportunity that is not to be missed. This passed the Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test with a B+

Eugene Onegin. An opera by Tchaikovsky at the Metropolitan Opera House. Valery Gergiev conducting, with Renée Fleming, Elena Zaremba, Ramon Vargas and Dimitri Hvorostovsky.
The Metropolitan Opera is enjoying its best season in decades. Hit after hit beginning with the magnificent Minghella production of "Madama Butterfly," a scintillating new "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," Anna Netrebko's star turn in "I Puritani," Karita Mattila in "Jenufa" and perhaps grandest of all - this glorious all star "Eugene Onegin."
Every part in "Eugene Onegin" is cast from strength. Take the Olga of Elena Zaremba, for once, this crucial role is given to a major singer who breaks our hearts as the girl who loses all through her thoughtlessness. Then there is her doomed lover, Lenski, played to perfection by Ramon Vargas who at last has given the complete performance at the Metropolitan that should make him into a bonafide star. This is luxury casting which boasts the beautiful and gifted Renée Fleming, who has often been so lethargic, but opposite the smoldering Hvorostovsky, she now gives the best performance I've seen from her since she leapt into stardom. Fleming sings with her customary creamy tone, but for once, she's passionate and utterly involved - an ideal Tatiana.
But the greatest stars of the evening were the two Russian superstars - the conductor Valery Gergiev who has this music in his bones - never have I heard a better conducted "Eugene Onegin" and the dashing baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky is historically great. I've heard every recording of this popular opera and nearly all of the historical acoustics by the most famous early Russian singers, dating back to the Czarist era, and none have approached Hvorostovsky. But he's no mere vocalist, he's unbelievably handsome - he stands ramrod straight and proud, his voice easily filling the house (we sat in the balcony and his voice rose up to us with ease, in fact it seems to have grown in size and richness over the years since we first heard his New York Debut at Alice Tully Hall). As noted above, history is being made here and now. This landmark "Eugene Onegin" passed the Bridge and Tunnel Test with an A+