A Wilde Ride: The Importance of Being Classic Today
Jim Parsons “knows not only what marks to hit but exactly how to hit them,” according to Jesse Green’s New York Times review. Shereen Ahmed is “exquisitely reticent” as Adele.
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”
—Oscar Wilde
Next week we continue our collaboration with nearby Classic Stage Company, the longstanding Off Broadway house dedicated to interpreting theatre’s greatest hits. In a leadership transition with Jill Robson taking the reins next season, Artistic Director of six years John Doyle bids farewell with Terrence McNally’s Oscar Wilde-inspired musical A Man of No Importance, recently rave-reviewed by the New York Times.
A celebration of live theatre inside and out, the plot centers on Alfie, a man of 1964 Dublin who strives to make theatre outside his day job (bus driving) with an iffy group of local talent. The show’s real actors, by the way, exude such honed command they make it easy to suspend disbelief; they play bad beautifully. It’s another layer of metatheatrical fun that you could only get in 3D, a vulnerable aliveness that crackles with Doyle’s signature minimalism, so little coming between the players, their instruments, and us.
At 1h45 min of life-affirming diversion, No Importance might come as timely artistic relief for those still digesting the pandemic and its aftermath. Through McNally and lyricist Lynn Ahrens’ words and Stephen Flaherty’s music—all of us together under Oscar Wilde’s wing—the multisensory pick-me-up made for a pitch-perfect reminder of the distinct pleasures of live art, how we feed off each other’s energy when a community of strangers shares art. The couch just can’t compete. It reminds you why you live in New York, why you get out of the house, and how much we missed, as well as learned, during those couple of homebound years.
Mare Winningham as the protagonist’s sister, Lily, was last seen on Broadway in Girl from the North Country, Conor McPherson’s Dylan-inspired musical (set in my hometown, Duluth, Minn.!). The performance garnered her a Tony nomination, and the soundtrack with arrangements by Simon Hale is a revelation in Dylan.
I wrote about what it means for Gotham to live up to words like “classic” and “institution” when we kicked off our partnership with CSC this summer. Classic Stage, 55 years old to Gotham’s 38, is also soul-searching around what it means to be presumed classic today. And like the theatre, we at Gotham have little interest in resting on laurels we are not re-earning every day; it’s quite different to be handed a legacy than to help shape one.
In his final curtain at Classic Stage, the twice-Tonyed Doyle has demonstrated what’s possible when extraordinary ingredients are crafted with skill and care. Reinventing Gotham has continued to be a similar exercise in effective restraint; how do we provide thrills, for now, with fewer cooks and smaller menus? How do we streamline service to give a Gotham-worthy level of pomp with fewer hands in the dining room? How do we put on the same great show for audiences of every size?
While some answers blow in the wind, others come when you throw caution to it. With Gotham’s growing program of art and dining experiences, we are pushing ourselves to provide meaningful New York days and nights that inspire you to get out on the town—and be overjoyed that you did. We hope you will make it a perfect New York night with Gotham and Classic Stage next week. And stay tuned for future Gotham Selections as we curate experiences worthy of all your senses.