Review by John Simon
Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- For the second time this week comes to Broadway a play from Chicago and again with cops, though not in principal parts.
“Superior Donuts,” by Tracy Letts, is superior to “A Steady Rain” starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. While not a prize-winning epic on the level of his “August: Osage County,” it’s a pleasing boulevard comedy nonetheless.
What is impressive about Letts -- that rare phenomenon of actor turned successful playwright -- is his scope. His “Killer Joe,” “Bug” “Osage” and now this are very different plays and all of genuine interest.
This time we find ourselves in seedy uptown Chicago, in the cramped doughnut shop owned by Polish-American Arthur Przybyszewski (the “p,” you’ll be relieved to learn, is silent), which the 59-year-old inherited years ago from his difficult immigrant father.
He has few customers, and the expansive Russian-American Max Tarasov, owner of the facing video store, wants to buy the shop as part of an expansionist dream. Arthur rejects his friendly bid even after Superior Donuts has been vandalized by unknowns.
Present are James, a black policeman, and Randy, a white policewoman, cluelessly providing some moral support, but then Arthur, 59, a ponytailed former hippie and draft dodger, is barely perturbed. His ex-wife has recently died, his daughter left him long ago and business is minimal. Yet he regularly dispenses free doughnuts to Lady, a bibulous and cantankerous crone, and keeps his store open whenever he pleases.
Great Novel
A 21-year-old unemployed black youth, Franco Wicks, brazenly forces his way into the closed store and, by sheer force of sassy will, gets himself hired as factotum. He is the livest of wires, and though he can’t spruce up the store and its owner as much as he would like, he does effectuate some enlivening changes with his effervescence and humor.
He has also written -- and carries about in a bundle of messy notebooks -- what he calls the Great American Novel, which Arthur, its first, initially reluctant reader, finds absolutely wonderful.
Not so wonderful are Luther, a vicious bookie, and his mean henchman Kevin, who come to collect the sizable debt Franco has incurred and cannot pay. He staves them off for another week, after which they will return, threatening serious damage to his fingers.
Romance Blooms
The dialogue scenes are periodically interrupted by Arthur’s addresses to the audience, in which he reminisces, part nostalgically, part soberly, about the past. The rest is more humorous, albeit with some ugly, unseen violence before the guardedly hopeful ending.
Besides Arthur and Franco’s amicably jocular confrontations, we get Max’s comical outbursts and very funny carryings on, as well as Lady’s cynical philosophizing and James’s “Star Trek” fan club membership and other interpolations. Also a nascent romance with the more than willing Randy into which Franco coaxes and pushes the repressed Arthur.
The dialogues and monologues are well written. Take Arthur’s “The root of the Polish character is hopelessness,” or his comment on Franco’s baking, “He’s a long way from edible.” Or consider Franco’s “Let me tell you who looks good in a pony tail: girls...and ponies.”
Lovably Understated
The performances are uniformly solid. Michael McKean’s lovably understated Arthur is perfectly balanced by Jon Michael Hill’s lively Franco. Kate Buddeke’s discreetly longing Randy and Jane Alderman’s drunkenly droll Lady are equally fine, as are the complementary menace of Robert Maffia’s loquacious Luther and Cliff Chamberlain’s laconic Kevin. Irresistible is Yasen Peyankov’s Max, an endearing griper and enthusiast. James Vincent Meredith as James and Michael Garvey as Max’s hulking but timid nephew also contribute handsomely.
Tina Landau has directed with her usual insight and aplomb, and Rick Sordelet has provided terrific fighting. James Schuette’s set, Ana Kuzmanic’s costumes and Christopher Akerlind’s lighting couldn’t be more spot-on. These doughnuts or donuts, by any spelling, cast their jocund spell.
At the Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St. Information: +1- 212-239-6200; http://www.telecharge.com.
Rating: ****
‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’
The women and girls watching “Love, Loss, and What I Wore” spent so much time nodding their heads or wiping away tears (sometimes of laughter, sometimes of recalled pain) that there was more action in the audience than onstage. Among the five terrific actresses onstage, Tyne Daly and Rosie O’Donnell were also giving a killer class in deadpan delivery.
The stories involve gowns, skirts, sweaters, what my grandmother called “foundation garments.” Also recalled is an apparently universal female rite of passage involving the Town Shop, a crummy dressing room and a matronly saleslady unembarrassed about going right to second base with customers who have no idea what size bra they should be wearing.
The monologues were crafted by the sisters Ephron, Nora and Delia, literary alchemists expert at mixing the sentimental and the satirical and turning out something poignant. Much of the material comes from Ilene Beckerman’s book of the same name.
In addition to Daly and O’Donnell, the cast, reading from binders, sitting on stools, includes Samantha Bee (of “The Daily Show”), Katie Finneran and Natasha Lyonne. The stories invoke long-lost lovers, hopefully lost husbands, husbands in jail.
The men are extras. They can’t hold a candle to the memories of clothing every woman watching conjured instantly in her head and, nodding, seemed to say, “Got that right.” -- Jeremy Gerard
At the Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd St. Information: +1- 212-239-6200; http://www.lovelossonstage.com. Rating: ***
What the Stars Mean:
**** Do Not Miss
*** Excellent
** Good
* Poor
(No stars) Worthless
(John Simon is the New York drama critic and Jeremy Gerard is an editor and critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are their own.)
To contact the writers of this column: John Simon in New York at jis1925@aol.com. Jeremy Gerard in New York at jgerard2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 1, 2009 22:30 EDT
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