post-gazette.com - 22/Dec/2011

[Source]

Best Play(s): 'House & Garden'
Thursday, December 22, 2011
By Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The world is so much with us, racing forward, that it's restorative to pause, recall the theatrical year past and savor its pleasures. You should try it yourself -- trying using the post-gazette.com search box at the top of this page. But the odds are you don't have as many memories to sort through as we do, and that makes it hard when faced with the annual directive to pick the top 10. There is too much range and variety in Pittsburgh's professional theater scene, both local and touring, plus the best of the semi-pro and university shows, to make it easy. Though it falls to me to wield the pen, PG theater criticism is a team effort. Of the 80-some local shows reviewed in 2011, I did the most, then Sharon Eberson, then Bob Hoover. Both spoke up for their favorites. Nine others reviewed at least one show, led by Kate Angell. I also queried a few trusted others whose help is enhanced by their anonymity. But the final decisions were necessarily mine. It was particularly tough selecting No. 1. It came down to "House & Garden" and "Maria de Buenos Aires," both excellent collaborations in unusual ways. The former won out because two plays staged simultaneously and (literally) on top of each other is simply the greater feat. We also struggled with the bottom of the top 10 -- "Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods" could easily have moved up. I further relieved pressure on the top group by creating a category for solo shows; otherwise, "The Amish Project" would be in the top 10, as well.

Teddy, portrayed by Martin Giles, blathers uncomprehendingly as his British wife, played by Helena Ruoti, left, and French fling, Nike Doukas, face off on this unlikely field of amatory battle in the "House" half of "House & Garden" at Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre.

1. Alan Ayckbourn, "House & Garden," Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre: Two interlocking plays ("House" and "Garden") in adjacent theaters trace the comic haps and mishaps at an English country estate. Actors exited one play just in time to enter the other, keeping two audiences entertained with Mr. Ayckbourn's rueful comedy. Good as separate plays, the two multiply their effect when served in tandem.

2. Astor Piazzolla (music) and Horacio Ferrer (libretto), "Maria de Buenos Aires," Quantum Theatre: A tango opera, mixing a melancholy song cycle, surreal poetry and smoky music, then using ballet noir, operatic voices and a rich video accompaniment to create a story despairing, romantic and ultimately mythic. The space played its part, a cabaret wrapped around ramps and platforms in a derelict East Liberty Y, a dusty echo of the battered streets of turn-of-the-20th-century Buenos Aires.

3. Tarell Alvin McCraney, "Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet," City Theatre: A story about a Louisiana teenager coming to terms with his sexuality, told by a theater poet with original myth-making power. Part of Mr. McCraney's Brother/Sister trilogy, it draws on the oldest strands of Yoruba folklore and the newest hip-hop rhythms.

4. John Logan, "Red," Pittsburgh Public Theater: A play about art and the war between generations, as Mark Rothko, the artist as epic hero, looks back to the great masters, triumphs over his immediate predecessors and sneers at his pop art successors. There's also a surrogate son with whom to tussle, while man's tenuous place in the universe is in the balance.

5. Leslie Bricusse (book, lyrics) and Frank Wildhorn (music), "Jekyll & Hyde," Pittsburgh CLO: Director Robert Cuccioli (who played the lead on Broadway) returned to re-stage and re-jigger his previous CLO success with a largely new cast, especially strong in its women.

6. Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest," PICT: Director Alan Stanford added a frame story about the exiled author taking his desperate pleasure in a Parisian cafe and also taking refuge in a revival of his great play in his own mind, casting it from the cafe's rent boys and other habitues while saving the imperious Lady Bracknell for himself.

7. Madeleine George, "Precious Little," City: A crisp tough-minded but often comic play about a linguist working with an ape. It's also about language, memory, culture, commitment and, ultimately, the hopes and fears of love and maternity.

8. Gab Cody (with Rita Reis), "Fat Beckett," Quantum: An appropriation of "Waiting for Godot," re-imagined as a more hopeful journey by two female comics, performed by the authors and staged in another Quantum-found space, a derelict school building in Lawrenceville.

9. Tracy Letts, "Superior Donuts," Public: A feel-good comedy about the gritty slice of Chicago life seen in a doughnut shop, where greed and abuse are eventually turned back by loyalty and honor.

10. Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, "Hunter Gatherers," Bricolage: A grisly comedy that peels back social niceties and finds two young couples reduced to primal comic mayhem.

A runner-up dozen:

Tammy Ryan, "Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods" (Playhouse Rep); David Lindsay-Abaire (book, lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music), "Shrek" (PNC Broadway Across America); Yasmina Reza, "The God of Carnage" (Public); "Million Dollar Quartet" (PNC Broadway); Martin McDonagh, "Lonesome West" (Playhouse Rep); August Wilson, "King Hedley II" (Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre); William Cameron, "Violet Sharp" (Terra Nova Theater); Euripides, "Electra" (Public); Jeffrey Hatcher and Eric Simonson, "Louder Faster" (City); Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, "Seussical" (Pittsburgh Musical Theater); Caryl Churchill, "Mad Forest" (Carnegie Mellon); and Tennessee Williams, "The Glass Menagerie" (Prime Stage).

Best solo show: Jessica Dickey was magnificent in her own "The Amish Project" (City). Keith Bunin's "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" (also City) is a cabaret that morphs into a drama, with the charming Luke Macfarlane as Sam. And of Alan Cumming's cabaret for the 25th annual Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force benefit (Public), I predicted, "it's going to take an awful lot of great theater to keep this evening off my annual list of the Top Ten theater evenings."

Best debut of a new company: Organic Theater Pittsburgh in Sarah Ruhl's "Dead Man's Cell Phone."

Special mention: The retrospective of Frank Gagliano's Voodoo Trilogy (Pittsburgh Playwrights).

Theater of the year: City Theatre, with five of its six mainstage shows among these bests.

Stay tuned for the annual Performer of the Year story, coming in early January, when we celebrate the year's best performers, directors, designers and others.

Senior theater critic Christopher Rawson: 412-216-1944.

First published on December 22, 2011 at 12:00 am

post-gazette.com - 15/Dec/2011

[Source]

Bright Lights, New City: Out-of-town actors share experiences of getting to know Pittsburgh

Thursday, December 15, 2011
By Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Luke Macfarlane

Actors who live in other cities come and go through our many local companies, but they take a little bit of Pittsburgh with them. How they experience the area for the first time may depend on where they are housed, the intensity of producing the show and their curiosity. Three actors performing at Pittsburgh Public Theater and City Theatre this month discussed the challenges and joys of getting to know a new city while working onstage.

Luke Macfarlane made it to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob and The Andy Warhol Museum within the first weeks of coming to City Theatre on the South Side, where he is performing the marathon one-man show "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir." The native of Canada has a home in Los Angeles, where he filmed the ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters," and recently stayed in New York while on Broadway in "The Normal Heart."

The Public's two-man team in "Red," Jeff Still as Mark Rothko and Jack Cuthmore-Scott as his assistant, come at Pittsburgh from two very different starting points.

Mr. Still, a New Jersey native, celebrated his 52nd birthday by working out at the Downtown Y before a performance of the show, which ended its run Dec. 11. The stage veteran who understudied the title role in "Lombardi" on Broadway spent a week here last year with the touring company of "August: Osage County" and took his son, Luke, to PNC Park for a ballgame.

Mr. Cutmore-Scott, 23, grew up in the Chelsea section of London and attended Harvard before making his way to Broadway as an understudy in the revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" from March through June. This is the first regional theater job for Mr. Cutmore-Scott, who settled in New York four months ago.

Mr. Macfarlane, 31, and his partner in exploration, "Sam Bendrix" playwright Keith Bunin, came here having worked on and workshopped the show for almost two years. Exploring has been a respite from the intensity of performance days.

He has been out and about so much, Mr. Macfarlane wondered, "Where shall I start?" when discussing his Pittsburgh experiences.

"I am very interested in buildings and houses, and here in the city I've just discovered an architect of yours, Frederick Scheibler. So I've been doing sort of drive-abouts looking at his buildings from the outside. He did this building in Shadyside called Highland Towers. It's incredible, this 1913 building. I live in this 1915 house that was considered modern for its time but then I look at Highland Towers and I have this whole other sense of what 'modern for its time' means. So I've really enjoyed looking at buildings in the city whenever possible. Some of them are really, really well kept up, and some of them aren't at all, and it creates this amazing potential energy of possibilities everywhere."

On performance night, though, Mr. Macfarlane doesn't stray far from the South Side theater at 13th and Bingham streets. He eats dinner every night at Dish Osteria and Bar on 17th Street.

The stars of "Red" are staying Downtown, within blocks of the Public's O'Reilly Theater, and so far have not wondered too far since they arrived to rehearse for a Nov. 10 opening.

"I've walked around certainly and as a result I've gotten to know Downtown and the walk to Mount Washington is something I do quite often, and I walk up to the Strip District," Mr. Still said. "But it is a pretty monastic life, which may be something particular to this play. I go to the Y and I go here, that's mainly what I do."

When the weather and time have allowed, Mr. Still makes the climb up McArdle Roadway to see the sights from the Mount Washington overlook.

"Then Becky [Rickard, the Public's group sales manager] recommended another way to go which is a much steeper climb, and I did that on Thanksgiving. I haven't been up there yet at night to see the lights, which I have to do."

Mr. Still had that week here last year to know he wanted to come back and give Pittsburgh a closer look. In the role of Ken, Mr. Cutmore-Scott came here for his first road experience in theater and for the first time onstage suppresses his natural English accent in favor of an American one. He won the role and came to Pittsburgh sight unseen.

"I didn't know much about what to expect," he said. "I'd looked the Public up and delved as much as I could online. I wish I'd known that one of the actors [in Broadway's "Arcadia"] had worked here; I didn't know until she sent me a message that said congratulations on getting the part and 'Oh, say hi to Ted [Pappas, head of the Public]. It was Bianca Amato, who played Titania [in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last year]. She was highly complimentary ... I knew Pittsburgh was pretty sizable, I knew the Public had a beautiful space and had a good reputation. And I knew the play pretty well by the time I got cast."

Getting to know the area was a little harder. He had been to the top of Mount Washington, gone skating Downtown and joined friends for drinks in Squirrel Hill, but he had a long list of places to see that had very few checked off. He'd had been told he had to have a meal at Pamela's, and The Andy Warhol Museum was high on the list for both "Red" actors.

Mr. Macfarlane, meanwhile, checked museums off his list with every passing day.

"There's so much I want to say about your city. The museums here, I haven't even talked about them," he said. "I met with the three people who are doing the [Carnegie] International show, and that is amazing. I am coming back for that. The history of that is incredible. And the Mattress Factory? It's one of the most unique museums I've ever been to."

After the Bon Soir closes shop on Sunday, he will spend holidays with his family and meet his new niece. "I'll be in Canada for New Year's, and then I'll be in L.A. for this crazy thing they call pilot season."

Although he is well-traveled, this is Mr. Macfarlane's first time at a regional theater. He has points of comparison from going back and forth twice from New York, where he was on Broadway in "The Normal Heart" last year, and his L.A. home.

"I love taking in all the different cities," he said. "Something that really struck me ... is that Pittsburgh has its own identity, but it's really like a secret to everyone else. If you showed a lot of Americans a picture of the skyline they wouldn't have any idea what city you are talking about. It hasn't locked into minds as an identifiable city."

It was suggested that anyone who watches "Monday Night Football" would know the Pittsburgh skyline, and he laughed. "Or when we'll see Gotham Tower, which could be the Cathedral of Learning, or Inspector Gadget ..." He laughed again.

All three actors were aware of the high-profile films being shot in Pittsburgh this year, and all brought up the city's intersection of culture and sports.

Mr. Still looks for opportunities to see day games when he is on tour, and that's how he came to visit PNC Park last year. "It's obvious from what I know about Pittsburgh is that fans here love their football and hockey ... but the Pirates have a history of winning and it is a great ballpark," he said, adding that he enjoyed the view of PNC from the Downtown building that was his home for more than a month.

Mr. Still's co-star heard from friends who lived here that "I could expect a pretty healthy arts scene, which I've found to be true. Other than that I didn't know a lot about the city, except that sports is really big, which I've also found to be true."

He may not have gotten out as much he'd like, but he seems to figured us out.

"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" ends Sunday at City Theatre (412-431-CITY; citytheatrecompany.org).

Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com

First published on December 15, 2011 at 12:00 am

Talkin' Broadway - 09/Dec/2011

[Source]

Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir

City Theatre

Luke Macfarlane

Spend an evening away from the holiday hustle and bustle, and step back in time with Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir and the songs of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Vernon Duke and Jerome Kern (to name a few). Luke Macfarlane is Sam Bendrix, the "man you came to see when you can't see the man you really came to see," at the 1958 New York nightclub Bon Soir. As it is outside the Hamburg Studio doors, it's a cold winter night in the Bon Soir, and it's truly a delight and a respite to immerse yourself in the cozy little world created by Macfarlane, author Keith Bunin, director Mark Rucker, and a snappy 3-piece band (music director Douglas Levine, Jeff Mangone & Paul Thompson alternating on bass, and R.J. Heid on drums). This is not a cabaret show, though there are an impressive number of songs performed by Macfarlane and the band (I counted 16, but I may have missed a couple of titles), but a rich musical story about Sam Bendrix, who came of age in World War II, made a life in New York bartending and singing, and found friendship, romance and family with the women and men he met. 

It might be best to break this show down into components. Let's start with the superb list of songs performed. These are standards, nightclub songs of the '40s and '50s, but not the typical mix you might expect to hear. And each one is a gem. Yes, they start with Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," and there's the Gershwins' "Nice Work If You Can Get It," but we're also treated to Burt Bacharach and Hal David's lovely "The Story of My Life," "The Land Where the Good Songs Go" (Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse), "Too Close For Comfort" (Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, and Larry Holofcener), "Blame It On My Youth" (Oscar Levant and Edward Heyman) and beautiful "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II). You could strip away the story, and this would make a fine cabaret show, but here, each song fits within the story, but neatly so (no hitting over the head with symbolism). I'll credit the song selection to Bunin and Levine, and say that it is a key part of the success of this show. 

The story is another key component done well. It's not an earth-shattering story, but neither is it predictable. It's compelling, expertly placed in period and, except toward the end where maybe things get a wee bit maudlin, it's impossible not go along with the ride. Besides a telling of Sam Bendrix's backstory, there's also a lesson in bartending (Martinis 101, delivered to the band, of course, and a demonstration on how to make the beautiful pousse-café—made in a glass or, when necessary, a vase), as well as a deeper story of what it was like to be gay in 1958, or at least what it was like for Sam. Keith Bunin has carefully crafted this show (like that pousse-café); it's a treat to be able to sit back and enjoy a show without being distracted by plot holes or anachronisms. 

Great songs and a great story, of course, are nothing without someone to put it all across. And Luke Macfarlane is absolutely sublime as Sam Bendrix. His work on television, and a part in the accomplished ensemble of the recent Broadway production of The Normal Heart, didn't quite prepare me for what he does here. Yes, he sings (and plays the cello!) just fine, but what is really impressive is how he carries the show for 100 minutes. It's not that it's a burden, and the band does play a part, but it really is all Sam (and all Luke), and the energy never flags. Not to mention how the charm factor is off the charts. A handsome guy, who is very natural and appealing as a club singer of the era—not a Rat Pack ring-a-ding club singer, but a sincere, earnest real guy singer who is comfortable with a microphone and an audience. The moves are all there; he doesn't seem to be acting like a nightclub singer—he just is one. The connection Macfarlane has with the audience, right from the start, is palpable. How well does he sing? In a local feature piece, it was stated that he hasn't sung since performing with a band in high school. But it's hard to believe he hasn't trained for this role. His style comes off a little like Tony DeSare, but Sam isn't "the guy you came to see," and Luke seems to fit right in character there: not a headliner, but he would be a pleasant surprise perfectly capable of erasing the disappointment if you had to "settle." Some songs are delivered solidly, with a great balance between strong and smooth. A few songs seem a bit out of his range in places, but it's not unreasonable to think he'll work out those details. 

 

The sweetening components of the show are the expert band—great players always in character—and the cozy nightclub set by Tony Ferrieri. There's fine work from Angela M. Vesco (costume), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting), and Brad Peterson (sound). The pieces all fit together so well, it's amazing that this is the first post-workshop production. With a little trimming of the last half hour (but don't cut any of the songs!), Sam Bendrix's gig at the Bon Soir has a great future. 

Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, a world premiere with music. By Keith Bunin. At the City Theatre 

through December 18. For performance and ticket information, call 412.431.CITY (2489) or visit www.citytheatrecompany.org/. The City is also hosting a one-night After Hours at the Bon Soir! following the December 16 performance of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir at 9:45pm. Billy Porter will host and special guests include Luke Macfarlane, Lenora Nemetz, Daphne Alderson, Chris Laitta, Bria Walker. Tickets for that event include a free drink and are $30 each ($25 for City subscribers).

Photo: Suellen Fitzsimmons

See the current Schedule of Pittsburgh Theatre.

-- Ann Miner

TRIB LIVE | A & E - 01/Dec/2011

[Source]

Review: 'Sam Bendrix' a tribute to dreams of a bygone era
By Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 1, 2011

_______________ Related Articles ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 'Sam Bendrix' hits the highlights of a heyday _______________ 'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir' ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Produced by: City Theatre Company When: Through Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 5:30 and 9 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays and 1 p.m. Dec. 7 Admission: $30-$60, $15 for students and age 26 or younger, $22 for age 60 and older beginning two hours before showtime Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side Details: 412-431-2489 or website _______________ About the writer ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Alice T. Carter is the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's theater critic and can be reached at 412-320-7808 or via e-mail.

Playwright Keith Bunin arrived in Greenwich Village long after the Bon Soir and the era in which it lived had passed into history. So, his play "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," which is playing at City Theatre through Dec. 18, is woven from threads of fact and fiction, reality and creativity. "I guess Sam Bendrix is a version of the person I might have been," writes Bunin in his program notes. The play, Bunin explains: "is my attempt to pay tribute to the men and women who walked the streets of downtown New York long before I got there: the people who paved the way." The play is set in 1958 in the fondly remembered Bon Soir, a tiny basement club that featured up-and-coming performers who included Barbra Streisand and Phyllis Diller, as well as lots of others like the fictional Sam Bendrix, who tends bar while hoping to grab a moment in the spotlight. "I'm the man you see when you can't see the man you came to see," he announces ruefully. In an era when morals seemed as rigid as Sam's crisply starched button-down shirt and as narrow as his fashionably skinny tie, cabarets and their employees could lose their licenses for voicing an incautious word or opinion or showing too much skin. The Stonewall riots and marches against the Vietnam War or for racial equality were unimaginable. So, when Sam takes the stage on his last night before leaving New York, it's not surprising that he's 45 minutes into the show before he gets to the heart of the matter. Those familiar with the era and its coded language will already have realized where this tale of almost-requited love is leading. But that in no way diminishes its poignance and anguish. Playing Sam is Luke Macfarlane, whom some know from his role on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters." Macfarlane's Sam is a slim, cool, attractive young man you might find in an episode of "Mad Men." As he waits for that special someone to fill the empty seat at the front-row table, he's alternately vulnerable, hopeful, resigned and cautious. As he reveals himself and his story over an intermissionless 100 minutes, he engages the audience with a songbook of 20 songs of the era, such as "Blame It on My Youth," "It Never Was You," "That's Him" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." He also demonstrates how to customize a martini and construct a multilayered pousse-cafe cocktail, and plays the cello. He's a pleasant and intelligent singer who uses the songs to advance the journey of his story, which is the central mission. Scenic designer Tony Ferrieri and lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski provide the proper setting -- a dimly lit basement cabaret space with wood paneling and floors, tiny tables and the subtle haze once generated by cigarette-smoking patrons. Offering musical support is drummer R.J. Heid, musical director and pianist Douglas Levine and -- depending on the performance you see -- either Jeff Mangone or Paul Thompson on bass. The musicians, most notably Levine, provide cameo performances during the proceedings. The production at City Theatre marks the play's world premiere. Although some trimming and tightening is likely, it's already a tender, sensitive tale of love and loss that should have a future.

Pittsburgh CityPaper - 23/Nov/2011

[Source]

NOVEMBER 23, 2011
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
While the show at present isn't what playwright Keith Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell.


BY TED HOOVER

Luke Macfarlane in City Theatre's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir.

Photo courtesy of Suellen Fitzsimmons.

Boy -- if there was ever a show with my name written all over it, it's Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, now world-premiering at City Theatre. Mark Rucker directs Luke Macfarlane (late of TV's Brothers & Sisters) in the role of Sam Bendrix -- a bartender at the legendary New York cabaret in 1958 -- who has coerced the owners into letting him perform for one night only. And thanks to a few too many cocktails, his between-song patter turns into self-confession.

Tony Ferrieri has designed the sumptuous recreation of the Bon Soir, made even more atmospheric by Andrew David Ostrowski's moody and expressive lighting.

Pittsburgh's musical genius, Douglas Levine, is not only music director but plays the nightclub pianist, and his terrific jazz combo runs through a list of American Songbook standards which could have been lifted directly from my iTunes.

So I was totally prepared to fall in love.

And yet I have to say that I was less than enthralled. It's not bad, certainly, and never less than entertaining. But on the whole, the show feels generic and unmoored.

Bunin has set his play in the '50s and, for the life of me, I can't tell why. Nothing in the show's plot or attitude is either necessary to, or even formed by, that time. The character of Bendrix processes the world around him with a sensibility so firmly rooted in the 21^st century that there's no way to emotionally locate him in Bunin's chosen period.

But while the show at present isn't what Bunin wants it to be, what it is is swell. And a lot of that is because Macfarlane is just about as charming as anyone has a right to be; with his honest vulnerability, there's not a second we're not cheering him on. He also happens to be quite a good singer -- but, like the script, his voice is out of place. This was an era of brooding crooning (think Sinatra), not the bright, clear, unshaded singing Macfarlane provides.

As it stands, the show needs to amp up the authenticity. But until they get that, they've got the entertainment part covered.

Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir continues through Dec. 18. City Theatre, 13^th and Bingham streets, South Side. 412-431-2489 or www.CityTheatreCompany.org

post-gazette.com - 22/Nov/2011

[Source]

'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir' charms at City Theatre
Stage review
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

John Heller /Post-Gazette

Luke Macfarlane brings an understated tenderness and regret tinged with hope to the one-man show
"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir."

City Theatre has discovered an effective time machine and finely tuned it to 1958 to re-create the mood and music of that year for its charming "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir."

It's the premiere of Keith Bunin's emotional biography of a gay man looking for love in the wrong decade framed with evocative romantic show songs of the mid-20th century.

Reminding us a bit of "Mad Men's" Don Draper in his white shirt, narrow tie and slick hair, Luke Macfarlane plays Sam with an understated tenderness and regret tinged with hope. Bartender and fill-in singer at the tiny Bon Soir club in New York's Greenwich Village, Sam is saying farewell to his unhappy Manhattan history with a final performance.

'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir'

Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side.
When: Through Dec. 18; Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 5:30 and 9 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 1 p.m. matinees.
Tickets: $35-$60. 412-431-2489 or www.citytheatrecompany.org.

Blending great songs by Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Weill and even Pittsburgh's Oscar Levant with his sad tale of searches for a lover in the closeted '50s, Sam risks all by baring his soul to the habitues of the cozy club.

Once inside City Theatre's second stage, the intimate Hamburg Studio, audiences pass through that time machine into a genuine New York basement dive. All that's missing from scenic designer Tony Ferrieri's nicely realized set is a cloud of cigarette smoke.

From the cramped bar to the small tables and the cheap wood paneling behind the band, his Bon Soir immediately evokes the feel of the times. Add the hip music from the combo led by pianist Douglas Levine and the world is 53 years younger.

Credit Brad Peterson for sound design and Andrew David Ostrowski for lighting as well.

Under the direction of Mark Rucker, City Theatre's " 'way back machine" works its magic, transporting its audiences in a way only live theater can do. Mr. Macfarlane, who logged hours on the TV prime-time soap "Brothers & Sisters," gracefully holds center stage for most of the one-act show, which is probably 20 minutes too long.

While he movingly tells the ups, but mostly downs of his character's love life in the Big City, Mr. Macfarlane as a singer seems more comfortable in the lower registers. He and the band have a great rapport, however, a tight relationship that draws the audience in on the performance.

Playwright Bunin's vision of what gay men faced in the 1950s echoes the writing of Christopher Isherwood and more closely the fine Tom Ford film with Colin Firth, "A Single Man." It's a familiar story, told afresh thanks to the great musical framework that saves the story from mawkish sentimentality.

Bob Hoover: bhoover@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1634.


First published on November 22, 2011 at 12:00 am

Playbill.com - 18/Nov/2011

[Source]

Begin the Beguine: Luke Macfarlane Stars in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, Opening in Pittsburgh
By Kenneth Jones
18 Nov 2011

Luke Mcfarlane in Sam Bendrix...

Photo by Kristin Martz

Luke Macfarlane, star of the TV series "Brothers & Sisters" and Broadway's recent Tony Award-winning production of The Normal Heart, plays the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's 1950s-set show tune-studded play Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, opening Nov. 18 following previews from Nov. 12 at City Theatre in Pittsburgh.

Mark Rucker directs the work, which features music by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwin brothers. Performances play City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio Stage. It continues to Dec. 18.

According to City Theatre notes, "The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon."

Macfarlane recently played Scotty Wendell on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters." His credits also include FX's "Over There" and the feature film "Kinsey."

"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," City Theatre artistic director Tracy Brigden said in a statement, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and — most importantly — someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."

The musicians are R.J. Heid (percussion), Douglas Levine (pianist), Jeff Mangone (double bass, alternating) and Paul Thompson (double bass, alternating). Levine is music director and penned original arrangements.

The design team includes Tony Ferrieri (scenic), Angela M. Vesco (costume), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting) and Brad Peterson (sound).

City Theatre is at 1300 Bingham Street in Pittsburgh, PA. Visit CityTheatreCompany.org.

Post-gazette.com A&E / THEATER & DANCE - 17/Nov/2011

[Source]

Luke Macfarlane steps into role of volatile singer in City Theatre's 'Sam Bendrix'

Thursday, November 17, 2011
By Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Luke Macfarlane rehearses for his one-man world premiere,
"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," at City Theatre.

Imagine you are seated in a smoky cafe in 1950s New York, ready for a night of same-old, same-old as a young man and three-piece band perform a cabaret act of popular music. The city outside bustles to a cultural sea change that's exploding artistic norms.

If you've arrived at the scene, you have found your way to the other side of the time tunnel where performer Luke Macfarlane and writer Keith Bunin hope to lead audiences experiencing "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir," a world premiere at City Theatre's intimate Lester Hamburg theater.

The one-man show includes music by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins within the structure of a cabaret act that turns out to be a confessional by Sam. He is saying goodbye to New York, where he had come from a small town, like so many others, and things hadn't turned out quite as he planned.

'Sam Bendrix at The Bon Soir'

Where: City Theatre, Lester Hamburg Studio Stage, 1300 Bingham St., South Side.
When: Through Dec. 18. 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 5:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; 1 p.m. matinees Nov. 30 and Dec. 7; no performances Nov. 23-24.
Tickets: $35-$60 (check online for student and senior discounts); citytheatrecompany.org or 412-431-CITY.

Sitting in a Starbucks on the South Side on a spring-like day a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Macfarlane and Mr. Bunin discussed the collaboration that has brought this project to City. "Sam Bendrix" strives to generate the feeling of a time and place while incorporating some of the lesser-known songs by big-name composers of the era. And it's about what it meant to be gay in 1958, when the play is set.

"If you were from a small town in the middle of the country you might not know any other people like you, and it led to a sort of influx into the cities and it created this New York City life that really was unprecedented," Mr. Bunin said. "We were also interested in the ways things were very open and very coded, and the incredible things that were going on artistically. Like the Beat generation, the modernist painters ... Jackson Pollock, Frank O'Hara, 'West Side Story,' ... Jack Keroauc, Allen Ginsberg ..."

"It's so interesting to really look at this history and you say, 'Oh my God, these things were happening at the exact same time.' It's shocking," Mr. Macfarlane said.

You may recognize the name Luke Macfarlane and the chiseled good looks from his stint on the ABC series "Brothers & Sisters," in which he played Scotty, who was coupled with one of the brothers of the title. He made his Broadway debut last year in the acclaimed revival of "The Normal Heart," about the rise of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the early 1980s.

The native of London, Ontario, sings and plays the cello, too, which is in part how he wound up as Sam Bendrix. Mr. Bunin had worked on another project with Mr. Macfarlane, so he knew he could sing, even though the last time was with a high school band, before Mr. Macfarlane changed gears and decided to tackle drama at the Juilliard School in New York. (You can listen to tracks of his singing with that band, Fellow Nameless, at lukemacfarlane.org/fellow-nameless.)

"That was the fun thing about knowing the actor," Mr. Bunin said. "I think it's a real privilege. Normally when you write a play, you write a play not knowing who is going to be in it. The fun thing about this was it was a manageable situation. That was a great way to work, and a way you never get to work."

Although the weight of the play would seem to be squarely on the shoulders of the 31-year-old Mr. Macfarlane, he has solid help in music director Douglas Levine, who is the onstage accompanist and who has to react to Sam's increasingly dangerous dialogue.

"They are the other audience," Mr. Macfarlane said of the band. "Doug's fantastic. He's such a gifted pianist. We have yet to start working with the whole band [adding bass and drums], and when they come in, that's going to be great for Doug because I can hear him imagining the whole band and with his 65 fingers, he's playing the whole band. I think when he doesn't have to do that, he's going to take it to level 150."

Mr. Macfarlane has put his trust in Mr. Levine as he has trusted Mr. Bunin and director Mark Rucker, another partner in the "Sam Bendrix" project, to give him all he could handle -- but not too much.

"Keith is such a ferocious reader and knows so much about history before he starts a project. And in a way starting out with more and kind of cutting back was sort of a cheat for the actor. A lot of my background work was done for me, and sometimes in rehearsal I find myself saying another line from another draft. But it's in a great way, because the character is living these lines he may never get to say but they are still very real in my head."

He laughs when it's suggested that "Sam Bendrix" is for someone with masochistic tendencies, because there are so many things for an actor to play: Sam is a singer and a musician who has to bare his emotions and get increasingly drunk as the play progresses. Mr. Macfarlane pointed to a revealing line in the play in which Sam, speaking of someone else, says, "The only reason people get drunk is they have an excuse to say things they would never say."

"I think like most actors, it's really exciting to be challenged," the actor said. "You're constantly saying, 'Put me in coach.' That's what all actors want to do. And I knew when I looked at the script for the first time, I could do this. There are also times when you look at things and think, 'Oh my gosh, this isn't me.' So I feel it's like the privilege of the playwright knowing the actor. He didn't give me anything impossible. I don't pull a trombone out."

Both men are glad to introduce the play in the intimate setting of the Hamburg, standing in for the real Bon Soir, a lamented Greenwich Village club where famous comedians and singers like Barbra Streisand and Ethel Waters were known to perform. The character of Sam is the club's bartender who fills in at the mike on some nights.

Mr. Bunin noted that "it's really a play, so it doesn't work in a cabaret space," where people are being served and perhaps talking over the performer. "I found when researching this, you go to Joe's Pub or the West Bank [Cafe in New York], and people don't really listen there ... and this show requires the audience to listen to everything that's being said. So it wants to have a feeling, which I think Tony [Ferreri] and the designers are creating at the Hamburg, of it being in a cabaret space."

The playwright was familiar with City's stages from a short visit during a rehearsal of his play, "The Credeaux Canvas," in 2002. He and artistic director Tracy Brigden go way back to her stints at the Manhattan Theatre Club and Hartford Stage.

The play was workshopped at Vassar College with five performances for audiences before coming here. Both men are eager for more feedback from discerning audiences like the ones they expect at City Theatre. Mr. Macfarlane attended a performance of "Time Stands Still" there, and observed that the audience was "sophisticated and listened really well."

In their first few days in Pittsburgh, the friends and colleagues had visited The Andy Warhol Museum and Fallingwater, and Mr. MacFarlane, who has been living and acting in Los Angeles for most of the past decade, had called his sister to tell her he had awakened to snow for the first time in a long time.

Pittsburgh was making him feel nostalgic for a city of his youth, Hamilton, Ontario, "where the steel industry used to be," and at the same time revealing its artistic side.

"It wants to be in a city of culture," Mr. Macfarlane said of "Sam Bendrix." "Pittsburgh is really interesting in that way. There seems to be a real commitment to culture and there has been for the past hundred years, in a way that other cities don't have, and cities that are closer to epicenters."

Or as Mr. Bunin put it, "You feel like the city has its own identity and it's very secure in its identity. ... There's a sense of a cultural civic pride."

Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960.

TRIB LIVE | A & E - 16/Nov/2011

[Source]

'Sam Bendrix' hits the highlights of a heyday
By Alice T. Carter, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Luke Macfarlane performs onstage during a dress rehearsal on Thursday for the City Theatre's production of "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir." Justin Merriman | Tribune-Review

_______________ Photos ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Luke Macfarlane Justin Merriman | Tribune-Review _______________ 'Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir' ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Produced by: City Theatre Company When: Through Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 5:30 and 9 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays Admission: $30-$60, discounts available for students and seniors Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side Details: 412-431-2489 or website _______________ About the writer ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Alice T. Carter is the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's theater critic and can be reached at 412-320-7808 or via e-mail.

Luke Macfarlane wants to make one thing clear about "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir." "It is not a cabaret act," he says. "It's a beautiful, delicate play, a one-man show disguised as a cabaret act." Some confusion is inevitable. The play takes place in 1958 in the Bon Soir, a legendary nightclub where performers including Barbra Streisand and Phyllis Diller got their starts. The Bon Soir was a smoky, intimate venue where well-dressed, diverse audience -- blacks and whites, straights and gays -- gathered to hear music by legendary songwriters such as Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins. It was an era before rock 'n' roll, the Stonewall riots, the Civil Rights struggle and the Vietnam War changed the world. "It was an intimate world -- a club where so many different parts of New York could get together," Macfarlane says. At the center of the spotlight is Sam Bendrix, a young singer who takes the stage and his band for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon. Written by Keith Bunin, whose play "The Credeaux Canvas" was produced at City Theatre in 2002, "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" is having its world premiere through Dec. 18 in the Hamburg Studio at City Theatre on the South Side. Interwoven into the action are some two dozen songs, some of which would have already been classics and others that were contemporary hits of the period. "Keith wanted a blend of songs people knew and some that would be unfamiliar," says Mcfarlane, who has been playing Sam Bendrix since last year when the play began as a workshop production in New York City. The move to a fully-staged production at City Theatre is the next stage in its development. "It's about finding a space where it can transform to what it might become," Macfarlane says. "We might also discover that I can't pull off the show." Macfarlane's career spans roles on television, in movies and on stage. He is most widely known as Scotty Wendell on the ABC series "Brothers and Sisters." In April, he made his Broadway debut playing Craig Donner in the revival of "The Normal Heart." "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" is his first one-man show, an experience he calls "daunting, terrifying." Since being cast in the workshop production, he has spent time researching the cabaret experience and the world in which the play is set. "I've been trying to take in as many cabaret performances as I can," he says while lamenting the fact that few contemporary cabarets reproduce the ambiance of the Bon Soir. He feels a deep connection to the character he plays. "I understand Sam in an intimate way -- all the things that pull him in this life -- and I play the cello. Try to find someone else who can do that," he says. City Theatre artistic director Tracy Brigden believes Macfarlane is well-suited to the role. "Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm, someone who can tell an emotional story, and -- most importantly -- someone who can perform these wonderful songs," she says. "Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theater."

Luke and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY

Clip: Kong Chang

Luke Macfarlane and Keith Bunin was on Pittsburgh TODAY on the 16th of November.
Original clip was posted on facebook

Playbill.com - 16/Nov/2011

[Source]

THE SCREENING ROOM: Luke Macfarlane Sings in Sam Bendrix at Pittsburgh's City Theatre (Video)
By Michael Gioia
16 Nov 2011

Luke Macfarlane, who was last seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, is currently  starring in the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's 1950s-set show tune-studded play Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, which began in Pittsburg Nov. 12.

Mark Rucker directs Sam Bendrix, which officially opens Nov. 18 at City Theatre's Hamburg Studio Stage and continues through Dec. 18. The production features music by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwin brothers.

According to City Theatre notes, "The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon."

Macfarlane is also known for playing Scotty Wendell on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters. His credits also include FX's "Over There" and the feature film "Kinsey."

The City Theatre is located at 1300 Bingham Street in Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, visit CityTheatreCompany.org.

For a preview of Macfarlane in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, look below:

The Eponymous Theatre Critic Blog - 14/Nov/2011

[Source]

 "Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" from City Theatre

"Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir" by Keith Bunin follows Sam Bendrix, a bartender/crooner who, for one night only, has been given the time onstage to perform a nightclub act all his own...for someone who may or may not show up.

The City Theatre manages to set up a convincing lounge atmosphere, complete with (fake) smoke clouding and swirling around the lights. There are two and four-seat tables set up on risers so parties can sit together comfortably, and guests are even encouraged to bring their drinks with them. After all, it is a nightclub. The lighting stays ambiant, and the music from the band is clear and engaging without being overpowering.

The show is...fine, in every good and bad sense of the word. Luke Macfarlane, of some television acclaim, plays Sam and uses the audience as any good nightclub comic, basically as a second character or straight-man for his one-liners. Macfarlane's voice is like velvet, and he wears the character of Sam Bendrix like a dinner jacket - tailor-made. The musicians, while subtle, are great, really coming across not as actors (which they aren't) but as musicians there to support their lead. All in all, the show has the appeal of a good, low-key date night or something to bring your visiting grandparents to for nostalgia's sake.

However, those looking for a "something more"  night of theatre may want to look elsewhere. Basically, "Sam Bendrix..." is another "my life as a gay man" one-man show. And, while this one has the distinction of being set in 1958 New York City, it is pretty much the same-old, same-old. Macfarlane is affable, friendly, pretty darn virtuous and very nice to look at, and in the little over an hour and a half he's onstage we get to hear snippets about his childhood, his move to the Big Apple, his loves and subsequent heartbreaks, his tender relationship to his mother and a lot of forgotten classic songs. But then, try to find a one man (of any gender) show that doesn't involve music or tales of ex-boyfriends or that life in New York City was/is harder than it seems. Maybe less songs and more history? Maybe higher stakes and less affability? There needs to be something to take this particular show out of it's already well-worn path.

There is one moment where Sam and the band look nervous, after all, it is 1958 and the mere mention of homosexual practices are grounds for a police raid. But, rather than the tension mounting as the story becomes more and more intimate and overt, everything melts away to more relaxed singing and talking. Similarly, the play suffers from several anachronisms. For one, the play is set in 1958, Sam mentions buying a Chatty Cathy doll for a friend's daughter several years before...which is miraculous, as the doll was only available in stores in 1960. Similarly, The Cat in the Hat only came out in 1957...also, the blender they pull out at one point is decidedly not vintage, but now Epony is just being picky.

As stated before there is nothing "wrong" with the show. It is enjoyable, takes a few low-key suprising turns and is willing to make you laugh and send you on your merry way. And there is nothing wrong with that, but some innovation in the form may be the shot in the arm this show needs to truly distinguish itself.

- The Eponymous Theatre Critic does is fact know when the Chatty Cathy doll was made because Eponymous was the one standing at the front of the line at Macy's in 1960 buying five of them for reasons which, as of now, seem very silly and far away. Yes, Eponymous is old.

Playbill.com - 12/Nov/2011

[Source]

Begin the Beguine: Luke Macfarlane Stars in Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, Starting Nov. 12 in Pittsburgh
By Kenneth Jones
12 Nov 2011

Luke Mcfarlane in Sam Bendrix...

Photo by Kristin Martz

Luke Mcfarlane in Sam Bendrix...

Photo by Kristin Martz

Luke Macfarlane, star of the TV series "Brothers & Sisters" and Broadway's recent Tony Award-winning production of The Normal Heart, plays the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's 1950s-set show tune-studded play Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, Nov. 12-Dec. 18, at City Theatre in Pittsburgh.

Mark Rucker directs the work, which features music by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwin brothers. Performances play City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio Stage. Opening night is Nov. 18.

According to City Theatre notes, "The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon."

Macfarlane recently played Scotty Wendell on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters. His credits also include FX's "Over There" and the feature film "Kinsey."

"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," City Theatre artistic director Tracy Brigden said in a statement, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and — most importantly — someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."

The musicians are R.J. Heid (percussion), Douglas Levine (pianist), Jeff Mangone (double bass, alternating) and Paul Thompson (double bass, alternating). Levine is music director and penned original arrangements.

The design team includes Tony Ferrieri (scenic), Angela M. Vesco (costume), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting) and Brad Peterson (sound).

City Theatre is at 1300 Bingham Street in Pittsburgh, PA. Visit CityTheatreCompany.org.

Broadway World.com - 12/Nov/2011

[Source]

Luke Macfarlane Joins City Theater's SAM BENDRIX AT THE BON SOIR 11/12-12/18

Saturday, November 12, 2011; Posted: 05:11 AM - by BWW News Desk

City Theatre has announced that Luke MacFarlane, star of ABC's hit series Brothers & Sisters, will perform the title role in the world premiere of Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir. Mark Rucker will direct the play, also featuring music by legendary songwriters like Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and the Gershwins. Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir plays on City Theatre's intimate Hamburg Studio Stage November 12 - December 18, 2011. The Opening Night performance is Friday, November 18 at 8 pm.

Mr. Macfarlane recently playEd Scotty Wendell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters and appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of The Normal Heart. Audiences will also recognize him from FX's Over There and the feature film Kinsey.

"Sam Bendrix requires an actor loaded with charisma and charm," states City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, "someone who can tell an emotional story, and - most importantly - someone who can perform these wonderful songs. Luke's magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre."

City Theatre will announce the entire production team, including musicians and designers, shortly.

The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.

CITY THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
When: November 12 - December 18, 2011

Preview Schedule
Saturday, November 12 at 5:30 pm; Sunday, November 13 at 7pm;
Tuesday, November 15 and Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm;
Thursday, November 18 at 8 pm

PRESS / OPENING NIGHT
Friday, November 18 at 8 pm

Regular Run Schedule
Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 pm; Wednesday at 1 pm;
Thurs. and Fri. at 8 pm; Sat. at 5:30 & 9 pm; Sun. at 2 pm

Where: City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street on Pittsburgh's South Side

Single tickets start at $30.

Students and age 26 and younger may reserve $15 tickets, subject to availability.

Seniors (age 60 and older) may purchase $22 rush tickets at the Box Office beginning two hours before show time, subject to availability.

Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts.
Call Kari Shaffer at 412.431-4400 x286.

Tickets are available at 412.431.CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.

City Theatre is Pittsburgh's largest producing company located outside of downtown's Cultural District. Now in its 37th year and settled on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in contemporary and new plays and has brought to Pittsburgh playwrights such as Adam Rapp, Christopher Durang, Eric Simonson, and Jeffrey Hatcher. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director Mark R. Power, and a 45-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. www.citytheatrecompany.org

An announce from City Theatre - 11/Nov/2011

[Source]

This weekend: the Hamburg Stage becomes the legendary Bon Soir!

  

Read Pop Filter's interview with playwright Keith Bunin here! 

November 12-December 18, 2011  

world premiere

by Keith Bunin

directed by Mark Rucker

music direction by Douglas Levine

  

featuring songs by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, the Gershwins, and more! 

  

The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.

featuring Luke Macfarlane of ABC's Brothers & Sisters!

   

See it at City!

Performances selling out -
Buy your tickets today!

412.431.CITY (2489)
CityTheatreCompany.org 

Photo by Justin Merriman - 10/Nov/2011

[Source] Please see original photo at "Justin Merriman Photography: Luke Macfarlane"

Luke Macfarlane, who is best known for his role as Scotty Wandell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, rehearses on stage during a dress rehearsal for the City Theatre's production of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir on Thursday evening, November 10, 2011.

Photograph by Justin Merriman  

POP City - 09/Nov/2011

[Source]

Pop Filter Hot Pick: City Theatre presents world premiere of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir
Jennifer Baron | Wednesday, November 09, 2011

City Theatre is bringing a world premiere production to its intimate Southside-based Lester Hamburg Studio Stage. The latest play to mark its 37th season, Keith Bunin's Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir, will transport audiences to a highly creative and influential moment in American history.

The year is 1958, the setting the legendary Bon Soir club in New York's lively Greenwich Village. At the bustling cabaret-style club, charismatic musician Sam Bendrix and his talented band are about to take the stage for what will be their final riveting performance. Underscoring the cultural, political and societal shifts brewing beneath the surface of modern America, the new play weaves a "tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon."

As the drinks and the music flow around Bendrix, he's about to make the dramatic decision to quit the New York City life forever. Audiences will be mesmerized by some of the era's most enduring songs--as a lone chair the young singer reserves "for a special someone" sits empty in the club all night.

Move over Tom Cruise--there's another Hollywood star in town! Starring in the title role is accomplished actor and singer Luke Macfarlane, best known for his portrayal of Scotty Wendell in ABC’s hit series Brothers & Sisters. Macfarlance recently appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of The Normal Heart, and has also starred in FX’s Over There, Robert Altman's Tanner on Tanner (Sundance Channel), and in the feature film, Kinsey. The Canadian actor and musician, who was born in London, Ontario in 1980, studied drama at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School, and has starred in several award-wining Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.

“Luke’s magnetic star power on the very intimate Hamburg stage is going to make for an unforgettable evening of theatre," says City Theatre's artistic director Tracy Brigden.

"I am fascinated by this particular period in history in New York. So much was going on comedically and in the art world, with jazz, the Beats and painters at The Museum of Modern Art; West Side Story was on Broadway and Chet Baker was playing. It's a very interesting time," says playwright Keith Bunin, who previously worked with Macfarlane, and first met Brigden 15 years ago in New York. "In the play, Sam is about 30 years old, and is from the generation that served in World War II, a time that redistributed so many people into big cities, where they discovered new worlds."

Based in Brooklyn, the 40-year-old playwright has been in town rehearsing since Oct. 17. He started working on Sam Bendrix in 2009, and workshopped the play in Los Angeles and at Vassar College. "We are really creating a real City Theatre production of this show. It's been a great experience for the star, the director and myself to work with all of the Pittsburgh people, including the design team, local musicians and musical director Douglas Levine."

Directed by Mark Rucker, the show's design team includes Tony Ferrieri (scenic), Angela M. Vesco (costume), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting), and Brad Peterson (sound).

Both the audience, and the songs themselves, play a central role in the drama. "I want the audience to feel like they are in the time period, not superior to it, or nostalgic for it. What's really fun is that the audience is both themselves, and cast in the role of an audience that would be watching the show in 1958," says Bunin, who is quick to point out that this does not translate to audience participation (so no need to exercise those vocal chords or dance steps!).

"It's really a play disguised as a cabaret act. What's tricky about this show is that you don't want to do it in an actual cabaret space, where the audience is not really paying the same type of attention and the expectations are different. Part of the fun has been developing the songs with the musical director, the actor and the director. These songs are so tensile, in terms of meaning and arrangements; the lyrics and music are so strong. The art and lyricism of mid-century American music is really incredible."

To cull the right music, Bunin listened to hundreds of songs during a research process that was greatly aided by the convenience of YouTube and iTunes. Songs range from both popular and lesser known numbers composed from the 1930s through the 1950s, with a focus on pieces that were actually performed in clubs in 1958.

Bunin returns to the City Theatre, where his play The Credeaux Canvas was produced in 2002. His plays, The Busy World is Hushed and The World Over, both premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. Next up for Bunin is the screenplay for a live action animation version of the life and work of Dr. Seuss, a project spearheaded by Johnny Depp's production house, Infinitum Nihil, and Universal Studio's Illumination Entertainment. Bunin is also developing a screenplay for the film adaption of a book by Stephen King's son, Joe Hill.

An announce from City Theatre - 09/Nov/2011

[Source]

Luke Macfarlane of ABC's Brothers & Sisters is Sam Bendrix!

November 12-December 18, 2011  

world premiere
by Keith Bunin
directed by Mark Rucker
music direction by Douglas Levine

featuring songs by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, the Gershwins, and more!

The drinks and the music flow at the legendary Bon Soir. In 1958 Greenwich Village, a young singer and his band take the stage for a final performance before he quits New York City forever. While a chair he's holding for a special someone sits empty all night, Sam Bendrix tells a classic tale of an era not yet ready for the revolutionary changes on the horizon.

See it at City!

Performances selling out -
Buy your tickets today!

412.431.CITY (2489)
CityTheatreCompany.org

City Theatre's Backstage Blog - 07/Nov/2011

 [Source]

Ask Luke Macfarlane.
Published November 7, 2011

ASK LUKE.

.Luke Macfarlane, star of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters joins City Theatre for the world premiere of Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir by Keith Bunin.

He will be doing lots of interviews with the Pittsburgh media, but we thought it would be fun to let our Facebook fans have a chance to ask him questions!

All you have to do is click the “submit a question” button below and add your question in the comment box on the facebook page.   It’s that easy! We will shoot an interview with Luke where he answers your questions. Look for it on our Facebook page!