Harvey Fierstein is hardly new to the theater scene. He has been a fixture, of sorts, in the theater world since his 1971 debut at La Mama ETC’s production of the only play Andy Warhol ever wrote, called “Pork.” In this unique theatrical showcase, Fierstein played an asthmatic lesbian maid and apparently he caught the acting bug because he has been acting – and dabbling in the theatrical world of drag – ever since.
Now Fierstein is back in a show that is undoubtedly headed for great things, as this particular musical, entitled “A Catered Affair” is already headed for the Great White Way. This title may sound familiar to those of a certain age, as this Broadway-bound production is an adaptation of the teleplay written by Paddy Chayefsky, alter expanded for film by none other than Gore Vidal. It was Harvey Fierstein himself who recently took up the torch and created a chamber musical with the same storyline.
Surely there are fans of this show who will be beyond excited that the production is going to Broadway, and there is undoubtedly a lot of hype and many theatergoers who are fond of the musical as it stands. However, this reviewer was not so impressed with the production that was put forth at the Old Globe Theaters during the musicals tryout run.
The storyline, following an independent woman who becomes engaged and her mother, in the summer of 1953, surely stands as Chayefsky wrote it and Vidal expanded it. However, it would seem that this production had fallen flat of whatever hopes this reviewer had held for it. Although the show has been heralded for bringing chamber musicals back to the forefront of theater-going, to my eye there just was not much else to be enjoyed by this production.
The storyline is thin as it stood for this out-of-town try-out, so one must hope that the show will be re-vamped at least slightly for the Broadway debut. Asking the question of the lead character’s impending nuptials, “Whose wedding is it anyway?,” this musical tells one family’s story in a way that, for this Old Globe production, tried to be funny and poignant, but as it came across simply stood as a testament to the actors struggling to work with their sadly stunted scripts.
While the acting chops of such cast members as Katie Klaus, Heather MacRae, Kristine Zbornik, Lori Wilner, Matt Cavenaugh and Leslie Kritzer, Philip Hoffman, Tom Wopat and Faith Prince all shine through, it is truly a shame that Harvey Fierstein’s character is kept in such a one-dimensional, stock stereotype of a homosexual man. Especially when faced with the fact that Feirstein himself is, for all intents and purposes coupled with outward demeanor, proud of himself as an individual - whether as a gay man, an actor, a writer or any number of other aspects that make up the personality.
We may never know Feirstein’s reasons for allowing such a stereotypical character to be created, and on that same note we may never understand why he chose to support his move by playing that role himself, but perhaps we have to give him kudos for taking such a gutsy stance. After all, he created that character, perhaps knowing there would be backlash, and so he took to formalize it himself, to breathe life into that character and own it as completely as he possibly could. For that, if nothing else, we must give the actor credit.
If you have been looking for an engaging night out, you are going to want to be sure that you can attend “A Catered Affair,” especially now that the production is going to the Great White Way to bring its chamber musical magic to the people of New York and all intense theater-goers everywhere. See this show and decide for yourself what you feel the show boasts or lacks – it is the purpose of theater to make us think about the world in which we live, so actively participate and fully embrace the art.