Mrs. Warren's Profession, a play by George Bernard Shaw, at the American Airlines Theatre. We've seen a lot of top flight revivals of plays by Shaw including Heartbreak House, Pygmalion and Major Barbara at Roundabout. We've also seen excellent productions of Mrs. Warren's Profession. But this sizzling revival which features white hot performances by the great Cherry Jones and Sally Hawkins (of "Happy Go Lucky" fame) tops them all. These are two marvelous actresses at the top of their games, dueling as mother and daughter in this still relevant, provocative play.
For some reason, most of the critics didn't get Hawkins's performance, but we did, and the audience as a whole did last night. Multi dimensional - funny, sad, furious, resigned - and built with steel, Hawkins gives a brilliant portrayal of a role that is usually taken by an ingenue and conventionally played as such. Jones is the only Mrs. Warren we've seen to capture the earthiness of the role, her low down qualities, as well as her great heart. Her plea for women is universal, and because it comes from someone who is unabashedly vulgar, and not the usual madame masquerading as a patrician, it has much more punch. We very much liked the silky villainous Sir George Crofts by Mark Harelik and the hammy Mr. Praed of Edward Hibbert. The staging and the superb sets and costumes can't be bettered. This one goes in our Pantheon. It is not to be missed.
Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade A+

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a musical by David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane, at the Belasco Theatre. This ambitious musical, based on the classic film by Pedro Almodovar, is in its final week of previews. Changes are apparently still being made, but already there is plenty to savor in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown". The score is first rate, one of the best new scores we've heard on Broadway in years and even better perhaps than Yazbek's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
The staging is hugely imaginative and enjoyable. All the stops have been pulled out, video, gorgeous sets, it's all there. The performances will get a lot of award consideration most especially Laura Benanti's manic Candela (she looks incredibly sexy in her costumes), Sherie Rene Scott in what should be considered the lead role, and Patti LuPone who finds her best new role in years as Lucia. I don't think I've heard Brian Stokes Mitchell in more mellifluous form, and Danny Burstein is wonderful as the Taxi Driver. It could use some tightening in the second act and presumably will get some. But already, it is a notable achievement. But will the critics get it? Maybe not. Our Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade is B+