‘To Be or Not To Be’

TIGHT DRESSING ROOM: (L-R) Farcical situations where Steve Kazee as the handsome Lt. Sobinsky falls for the leading lady, Maria Tura (Jan Maxwell) as Kristine Nielsen intrudes in “To Be or Not To Be.” (Joan Marcus)

NEW YORK—Playwright Nick Whitby’s To Be or Not To Be, based on the popular 1942 movie of the same name starring Carole Lombard, is now a theatrical farce, with pluses and minuses to its credit.

In 1939 Warsaw, Poland, just as a theater troupe headed by Josef (David Rasche) and his wife, Maria Tura (Jan Maxwell) is set for a major opening, the German invasion brings things to a screeching halt, preventing the company from presenting its latest opus: a re-enactment of Germany’s invasion of Poland. They decide to substitute Hamlet.

To spice up the plot, the group is wooed into obtaining a list of resistance fighters from the Nazis by a handsome young bomber pilot, Lt. Sobinsky (Steve Kazee). He nightly fills Maria’s dressing room with grand bouquets of flowers, which he quirkily hand delivers, by means of squirming in front of the first row of the orchestra seats on his way backstage, lending a nice touch, both realistic and farcical.

Sobinsky’s wild attraction for Maria, whom he frequently visits in her dressing room, hardly puts a dent in Josef’s insatiable ego, at least, not at first. Josef is wound up tightly in his performance of Hamlet, as the audience is treated to his rendition of the titled soliloquy. David Rasche hams it up, but hilariously and effectively, to my mind.

As a nice conceit, director Casey Nicholaw has staged the soliloquy in two directions, first facing front to the Broadway audience, then later with Rasche’s back to us, as he addresses the Warsaw audience. The entire troupe is also very much in evidence, with Peter Maloney lending weight as the troupe’s worried director, and Marina Squerciati as the company’s ingénue, who later takes up with the director.

Harsh reality closes in when Grunberg (Robert Dorfman), the one Jewish member of the troupe, falls into the hands of the Nazis, although later, his young son, played by Brandon Perler, contributes a moving scene, indicating that his father will not be forgotten.

Rasche, with a rich voice and imposing presence, makes a vivid Josef, while the fine Jan Maxwell is a charming and appealing Maria. Her interpretation was somewhat surprising, however, in that she was not the more aggressive star that one might expect from an actress in her exalted position, but rather was modest and unassuming, serving as a noncompetitive foil to Josef.

Good support is supplied by Michael McCarty and Jimmy Smagula, making up part of the Nazi contingent.

The multitude of scenes conveyed a cinematic rather than theatrical feeling. Set designer Anna Louizos’s concept, which ranged from using the full expanse of the stage for the backstage scenes, then telescoped into the intimate, almost claustrophobic area of Maria’s dressing room, was a valid one. However, set changes took too long, throwing off the timing, which was not as tight as it might have been.

Gregg Barnes’s costumes are excellent, particularly the glamorous, slinky gowns worn by Ms. Maxwell.

Overall, it is a fun piece, particularly if one enjoys the inside jokes of theater people. Rasche’s Josef’s frequent loud comments to the effect that he is happy only when he is acting were not only comical, but poignant.

To Be or Not To Be
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
Presented by Manhattan Theatre Club
Tickets: [phone] or www.Telecharge.com
Closes: Nov. 23

Diana Barth reviews theater and film for various publications. She also writes and publishes New Millennium, an arts newsletter.