BROADWAY BOB’S

“The Fear of 13” at James Earl Jones Theatre is a riveting play based on the life of Nick Yarris. Making his Broadway debut, Adrien Brody is excellent in the lead role. Through a Ph,D student in the field of poetry, Jacki Miles (Tessa Thompson), Yarris relives his life, his hopes and his knowledge that he has acquired through reading over 1,000 books while on death row at the Huntington, Pennsylvania Correctional Facility.

Miles has donated her time at the institution and shows up weekly to hear the concerns of the inmates on death row. She particularly is interested in Yarris’s life. As she begins to bond with him, she tries to help him get off death row and out of prison entirely.

What makes “The Fear of 13” so good is several fold: Adrien Brody is a natural in his role; both funny and poignant, Brody commands his role. The set design by Arnulfo Maldonado shines, the lighting by Heather Gilbert back stops the mood of this deep play and the superb direction by David Cromer. This may very well be the best direction by Cromer that I have seen by him. He is deft in locking in the actors in this well written story by Lindsey Ferrentino.

Ferrentino pays careful attention in the dialogue between Brody and Thompson. The two slowly unwind their lives; what their fears are, what makes them tick. Yarris is unconventional, his statements and loud thoughts at times are hilarious. We feel like we know him personally over the two hours. Even though he has been given a raw deal over his lifetime, Cromer never brings out the really ugly side of prison, he only dabbles which makes the story that much better.

“The Fear of 13” is so well done. From the excellent writing, the direction as well as the acting and everything that supports the show is first rate and a must see!

John Lithgow who plays Roald Dahl in “Giant” at the Music Box, looks physically very much like the writer that he is playing. He moves about the stage sometimes child-like, other times flashing the bad temper that Dahl was known for. The real life Roald Dahl was an intellect, a soft spoken gentleman who could become irate when talking about world issues, especially the children who have suffered from around the world due to war efforts.

The two- and -a -half hour show starts off slow with Dahl (John Lithgow), his fiance Felicity Crosland (Rachael Stirling) and his close confidant, Tom Maschler (Elliott Levey) conversing about his new book about to be released. Writer Mark Rosenblatt tries to introduce the main characters, give some insight into their personalities. The play in the first ten minutes drags but picks up steam nicely when publicist Jessie Stone enters (Aya Cash).

The play focuses on politics at Dahl’s home at Gipsy House as it is called in 1983 in a small village in England. The politics in question is the Israeli bombing of children’s hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon. Dahl has written a piece condemning Israel, and the Jews in general which starts a row among the literary community.

Throughout the play director Nicholas Hytner straddles the temperment of all the actors well. Dahl’s fiance who is much younger than he is, tries to protect Dahl from the publishers, the community, and tries to keep his reputation in tack. Where Tom tries to avoid politics at all costs, the main battle of the play is between Jessie Stone and Dahl himself. When it comes down to the issues at hand, both make good points defending their beliefs. It is Felicity and Tom who try to calm as well as deflect the situation at hand that at times tends to get out of control.

Even though this play was written years ago it is earrily topical today. From October 7th to what is happening right now in the Middle East, Rosenblatt brings front and center just how people feel about the war torn Middle East. He tells us in the show to pick a side and the emotion in the dialogue is raw like an open wound. To Dahl, a lover of children, it has become an obsession, one that is front and center in his everyday life.

Where “Giant” succeeds is that the writer gives us all sides of the argument. Even though Tom and Jessie are not particularly religious, they still have their Jewish traditions. They both give arguments as to why Israel has the right to exist. Dahl, on the other hand makes a strong case for his beliefs and that is what makes “Giant” such a worthwhile play to see!