Marks & Vincentelli: A Theatre Podcast

“Les Miserables” may be a war horse, but dang, that old thoroughbred is spry. The musical by Claude Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretchmer opened in London in 1985 (after being birthed in Paris) and two years later, on Broadway. As new productions are springing up across the country, we turned to Powell, who has staged “Les Mizzes” all over the world, to talk about his history with the show and about its bottomless appeal.

I saw Damien Warren-Smith perform his 80-minute hit show last month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — a show that epitomizes the spirit of fringe. Here, we talk about the clown tradition that the British born, Australian-bred Warren-Smith champions, in a show he built around the titles of Penguin Classic books. It’s a conceit that you really have to hear more about to fully appreciate. And Warren-Smith unravels it all here.

Is there a provocative button that our guest Jonathan Spector doesn’t like to push? Mind you, this makes him sound like David Mamet or something, which is very much not his style.

Jonathan’s play “Eureka Day,” which won the Tony Award for best revival last year, was about the debate around vaccines at a Bay Area school in the middle of a mumps outbreak.

Now he’s back with “Birthright,” at MCC Theater through Aug. 23, about six people who met on a birthright trip to Israel (some knew each other before, but the trip was the binding agent for them as a group). The play follows these three women and three men over the course of 18 years, through relationships and jobs, domestic politics and international conflicts — the action ends in 2024 so you can probably guess what figures in the show’s explosive third act.

“Birthright” is very much a play of ideas and there’s something highly satisfying about watching a writer stretch them over a big canvas — Teddy Bergman’s production is three hours and 20 minutes.

We asked Jonathan about the genesis of “Birthright,” tackling a very fraught subject, writing for an ensemble and a lot more.

To wraps things up, Elisabeth brought up the Adult Film company’s “Woyzeck,” which she’d recently seen in Queens (it’s included in this roundup of reviews of Off Off Broadway shows).

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.

Once again a Washington, DC, institution is in trouble, but unlike with the Kennedy Center, this time the call came from inside the house. We welcomed Nicole Hertvik, editor-in-chief of DC Theater Arts, for her take on what’s unfolded at the storied Arena Stage, which artistic director Hana Sharif left in what appears to be acrimonious circumstances — the New York Times announced the news on June 26.

Nicole’s own reported piece came out on July 5, and there have been more since (including this one by Rebecca Ritzel in NOTUS on July 6 and this one by Trey Graham in Washingtonian on July 8).

We discussed the events with Nicole on the podcast, but we also used the opportunity to take a bird’s eye view of Arena Stage’s history as a historical leader of regional theater in the U.S. and the challenges of running an institution in the current arts environment.

In this episode we welcome the playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, whose new Tony Award-nominated comedy, “The Balusters,” is currently on Broadway with a fab cast that includes today’s other guest, Richard Thomas, alongside Marylouise Burke, Anika Noni Rose, Margaret Colin and Michael Esper.

We’d assumed that the play was named after a family but no, the title refers to the kind of small pillar that supports stairs or a porch, and becomes an object of tension in the story. Not that the characters lack opportunities to bicker, because they’re all members of a neighborhood association’s board and the play takes places over several of their meetings.

David’s plays include the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rabbit Hole” as well as “Good People” and Ripcord.” He’s also written books for musicals including “Kimberly Akimbo” (based on his play of the same name) and “Shrek.” Don’t miss the part of the episode when David immediately identifies the prominent critic Elisabeth overheard making a callous comment during “Good People”!

As for Richard, he’s a stage staple and his avuncular mien is put to particularly pointed use in “The Balusters,” where he plays the board president, Elliot.

In this episode we talked to the two men who are largely the reason why “The Lost Boys” is the wow-iest wow spectacle of the Broadway season: director Michael Arden and scenic designer Dane Laffrey. They’ve been friends since their days at Interlochen, and “The Lost Boys” — which landed a whopping 12 Tony nominations — is just the latest in a long collaboration that also includes the revivals of “Once on This Island” and “Parade," and last year’s “Maybe Happy Ending.”

Oh, and they did “The Queen of Versailles” this season as well. Yes, we talked about that one, too.

But most of the conversation was about “The Lost Boys,” which is based on the 1987 movie of the same title. And there was a lot to talk about because this show is a lot, from vampires flying up and down several stories’ worth of rafters to characters jumping off a bridge that suddenly appeared on stage.

So sit down, press “play” and listen to Michael and Dane explain how they turned the Palace Theater into a playground for Californian vamps.

A run at London’s Royal Court Theatre, followed by a transfer to the West End, followed by Broadway: not bad for your first play! That is exactly what happened to Mark Rosenblatt, the author of “Giant” and our guest on this episode. Mark spoke to us from London about his play, which explores Roald Dahl’s antisemitism; the action takes place not long after Dahl came under fire for his review of a 1983 book about Israel’s attack on Beirut the previous year. A commanding John Lithgow, often terrifying as Dahl, makes a meal of the role.

Mark talked to us about his years working in theater (usually as a director); what prompted him to turn to playwriting; the inspiration behind “Giant” and how he navigates the perils of writing about antisemitism these days. It’s a bracing conversation, and often funny — as is the play, which makes you laugh one second and shudder the next.

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.

Ann Harada is the only lead from the Apple TV+ series “Schmigadoon!” to reprise her role (Florence Menlove, the mayor’s wife) in the Broadway version, and we couldn’t be happier — she’s particularly well tuned to Cinco Paul’s wacky world.

Ann’s been a fan favorite since her breakthrough as Christmas Eve in “Avenue Q” but we’re also longtime fans of her turn as Trina in the National Asian American Theater Company’s revival of William Finn’s “Falsettoland.” And remember her as the harried stage manager in the series “Smash? Few play harried as expertly as she does. She also talked to us about her experience in shows like “M. Butterfly.”

We had to overcome some technical gremlins for this episode but it was well worth it, because Ann was funny and candid as she talked about journey, including the obstacles she faced as an Asian American performer in an industry that for a long time was not hospitable. Happily, she’s proof that there’s more in the repertoire than “The King and I.”

Gift link to Elisabeth’s review of “Schmigadoon!”

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.

It seems hard to believe that Gina Gionfriddo is just making her Broadway debut now. And she does it with a comedy, “Becky Shaw,” that premiered at Second Stage back in 2009. Not only that, but the show marks this terrific playwright’s return to NYC theater after 10 years writing for TV — the “Law & Order” universe has been good to her, as it’s been for many actors. On the podcast, Gina’s candid about what kept her away for so long: the need for a steady paycheck so she could raise her kid, for one, but also the weight of the crushing reviews that greeted her play “Can You Forgive Her?” in 2017.

Well, we’re glad to have Gina back, and that she found the time to drop by our virtual studio to talk about all that stuff and a lot more — including her upcoming stage adaptation of a novel starring a very, very famous serial killer.

Also: if you’ve seen her plays, which include “Rapture, Blister, Burn” as well, you know that Gionfriddo has a wicked sense of humor. Listen to this episode and you’ll see she’s not saving it for the stage.

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.

An unlikely thespian is winning over fans in Season 3 of the Lisa Kudrow cult series “The Comeback”: Jack O’Brien, who is playing Tommy, the hair stylist of Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish.

Theater fans certainly are familiar with O’Brien — but as a director. He’s won three Tonys, and for wildly different productions: “Hairspray,” “The Coast of Utopia” and “Henry IV.” Pretty good range, and that’s even before O’Brien stepped in to fill the void left on “The Comeback” by the death of Robert Michael Morris, who adorably played Tommy’s predecessor, Mickey, in the first two seasons. In addition to his many, many credits on Broadway — he landed his first Tony nomination for a revival of “Porgy and Bess” in 1977, and most recently directed the play “The Roommate” and the musical “Shucked!” — he also led San Diego’s Old Globe Theater from 1981 to 2007.

At 86, O’Brien remains indefatigable and found the time to drop by the podcast. He’s as funny and chatty as you might expect. We talked about “The Comeback,” of course, but also about some of his signature shows. Dive in!

Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.