The New Group has been an off Broadway favorite of mine for quite some time. Last season brought "Sabbaths Theatre" and starred the great John Turturro as Mickey Sabbath. The show was celebrated by audiences and critics alike, and while it had a limited run, many considered it one of the best in a jammed backed off Broadway season!
Last night, The New Group present "Babe", and like "Sabbath", this show too had great acting across the board. Marisa Tomei (Oscar Winner) as Abbey is the go between in the clash of generations. Talented in her own right, the record company that she has worked at for 32 years has undergone some changes... both the music and culture has seen that the times they are a changing.
The play is easily relatable to most age groups. Gus (Arliss Howard) is identified by the Baby Boomers; Katherine (Gracie McGraw) is in the Gen Z corner (maybe Gen X). As a Berkley Graduate, her interview doesn't go so well; hammered by hard hitting, blunt questions by Gus, she seems un-phased by his rough around the edges technique. He is a man who has seen better days; this once hard rocker is a leather jacket, bandana wearing, leather black boots, no B.S. type of individual.
"Babe" is written by Jessica Goldberg and directed by Scott Elliott. The writing is deep in that it has many meanings too it. The play will not be for everyone, (several people walked out on it). What the play has going for it is several fold: the actors are all very good; the set works well (Derek McLane) Scott Elliott for the most part has nice flow and balance throughout the eighty five minutes. Jeff Mahshie captures each individual well with his costumes. Cha See at times in the overhead lighting blurs the actors onstage, however, the straight away lights and the various colors set the mood and a strong back-beat to the play, as does the deft sound by Jessica Paz.
In the shows title, we have as many meanings as the plot itself. All three actors are complicated; they all come from different backgrounds and want different things out of life. Is Abbey the "Babe" here? Comfortable with her life she cares less that she has never had her name on a record, (or at least hasn't let on that she's not bothered by it) nor does she care that Gus has reaped most of the material rewards. Her 32 years at the company has made her proud of the talent she has found, the friends that she has made along the way. The "Babe" could be the new comer who is wide eyed and not yet seasoned in the ways of the world yet. The same can be said for Gus: he has not changed with the PC times, his musical chops are also brought into question when new talent is constantly thrown in his face to sign to the label.
Goldberg is constant in questioning the difference between generations. To the older generation we cannot fathom what Katherine wants; to the newer generation it is plausible what she demands. The writer is asking us to pick a side and both the actors and the direction turns up the heat on us. As the play starts, it is a slow simmer, it is boiling by the curtain and both loyalty and temperaments are challenged. While Abbey wants to dance to the sounds of yesteryear, she realizes that the present is here, and as scary as it is,that there is no turning back.
Marisa Tomei Oscar Winner, Arliss Howard, Gracie McGraw, The New Group, New York City, Scott Elliott.
About the Creator
Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).
I have been writing on theater since 1982. A graduate from Manhattan College B.S. A member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, which recognizes excellence in both English and Science. I have produced 14 shows on and off Broadway. I've seen over700 shows
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