Last Call

The problem with "Last Call" is not so much the writing, as it is in the plays direction (Gil Mehmart). The slow pace of this show makes for a long ninety minutes at New World Stages. Based on two great conductors and song writers, the play starts out fine but spirals quickly. What could have been a more enlightening play by Peter Danish, turned into dialogue that just wasn't interesting after awhile.

The plays premise is that two legends of classical music meet in a bar in Vienna, 1988. The two were competitive over the years and they have one last night together. What makes the play confusing is that the two men, Leonard Bernstein( Helen Schneider) and Herbert Von Karajan(Lucca Zucher) are woman playing these two legends. While Zucher is very good, Schneider is very poorly directed and weak. Still, the audience has to question why are two woman in these roles? Is it to bring the softer side to these men?

As the two artists discuss there lives in a very well appointed bar (scenic design by Christopher Barreca), they are served by Michael the bartender (Victor Peterson). Peterson has maybe the best scene of the afternoon when he belts out an opera number. Polite and inquisitive, Victor Peterson adds a lot of value to this performance as an actor and is very elegant in the way he turns the bar into a bathroom and back again. The two scenes throughout the entire show are just right; they give just the right amount blend to movement.

The costumes are well in fashion for this show... Bernstein is more flamboyant and Karajan is more simple but elegant. The two different costumes capture the personalities perfectly. Karajan is steadfast in his work; his music is everything too him. Bernstein smokes five packs of cigarettes a day; he pounds the booze and burns the candle at both ends. Victor Peterson's costume is versatile, he is able to deftly adjust his costume to become an operetta for a scene that is well done!

Michael Grundner's lighting is very effective. His cool blues and off whites give an excellent vibe to an otherwise weak show. His lighting choices also give a modern vibe and a hip feel. Like Grundner, Lindsay Jones sound design gives a clubbish atmosphere and brings a cool sense to the show. Jones and Grundner give a one-two punch as far as feel and site to the show.

Where the writing never gets on solid footing; he spends more time on things that are more historic than on the life of these two musicians. To much time is based on the war than the inner thoughts of the artists. Bernstein who was Jewish and from New York City and Karajan who was Austrian spend more time talking about why Karajan was a Nazi supporter. The play would have been better if it delved into both of their upbringings. Instead Danish broods on the war years and spends to much time on it.

In the direction, Mehmart never delivers any emotion; the two main characters are for the most part monotone. It is very rare when any of the characters get overly excited. It is clear that Bernstein is bothered by his cohorts Nazi roots and yet, he never so much as raises his voice. Also, what bothers each other about their counterpart is never really brought to a boil, only a simmer. This is why the show lingers and never gets provocative.

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Broadway, Tony Awards, Aladdin, The Lion King, Harry Potter, Wicked, The Play That Goes Wrong, Hamilton, Hadestown, Little Shop of Horrors.