“Regardless of its pitfalls it has heart and carries an important message.”

“The end product is about lonely, confused, wounded people needing to heal, making a connection regardless of nationality or the color of their skin. The judicious outcome is that there are no illegal human beings and in a benevolent world.”

This certainly is a controversial production that will cause conversation and possibly disagreement on the way home from the theatre. The question is the verdict.

This is certainly a welcomed addition to the current New York theater scene that showcases a brilliant cast and creative team.

The audience seemed to enjoy the production now playing at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater entitled “Miss America’s Ugly Daughter” written and performed by Bess Myerson’s daughter Barra Grant.

A new play entitled “The Sabbath Girl” by Cary Gitter is the latest production to take the stage in theater “B” at 59E59, transferring from Penguin Rep Theatre where it had its world premiere.

The question that remains in my mind is why anyone would attempt to create a musical based on the dated 1969 motion picture “BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE?”

The music and lyrics by Mr. Carney and Gary Clark are the spine of this production providing characters with internal structure that is strong and sound always supporting the action. It is a feel-good musical that is neither mawkish nor incredible and strips away extravagance to embellish the fortitude of ordinary people.

There
is nothing new to be learned from this particular production about providing comfort for aging parents, but it may be worth a trip to the theatre just to see these two veteran actors together in nothing more than a sweet dramedy.

The epic new work penned by Stephen Adly Guirgis entitled “Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven” refers to the vast array of residents in a transitional shelter for women on the upper Westside of Manhattan.

There is the moon, the train, smoke, explosions, oversized telephones and a sad and emotional farewell. As Act One ends with a little help from the audience, you are captured by their ingenuity, like a spider drawing you into their web.

Ms. Schmidt has certainly made some odd choices for this production that seem to work against the power of the story. The staging is quite severe and stagnant which intrudes on the romanticism of the plot.

As Bedlam often demonstrates this is an impressive example of what has become a mantra of the company. It constructs classic theater in a most complicated yet simple manner which is both beneficial to the interpretation of the script while providing a special form of entertainment for their audience.

As the hand bell choir assembles like a Christmas card vignette to chime “Silent Night,” while real snowflakes fall, melting as they land upon your cheek, you become enchanted by the spirit of this miraculous season and this extraordinary production.

The cast is remarkable and even in all respects. Ordinary tasks from baking quiche to making salads almost exist as part of the dialogue, along with the rehearsal of modern dance routines that circle the observers for inspection. This is how the Michaels live.

There is no denying that a retrospect on of the life of Albert Einstein and the development of his renowned Theory of Relativity would be compelling and extremely interesting. To present this study in the form of musical theatre is a challenging and difficult task that requires a keen intellectual and creative perspective.

All three actors are admirable and do what they can with the material but the characters and set of circumstances are shallow and implausible.

“Less is more,” could possibly be the mantra of Mr. Doyle’s recent endeavors but this incarnation of Macbeth is more or less distorted and inconsequential. 

The show is not perfect, but it is certainly a felicitous tribute to a brave woman who beat the odds and rose to stardom because of her talent and determination.