Saturday, September 19, 2009

Superior Donuts on Broadway



Here's my take on Superior Donuts, a very funny new play that is in previews at the Music Box Theater in New York. I loved everything about Superior Donuts. Let me tell you exactly why.

My initial excitement about Superior Donuts is that I love the writing of its playwright, Tracy Letts. Many folks will recall that Tracy Letts is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play August:Osage County, which picked up the Tony Award for Best Play in 2008.

Superior Donuts is a wonderful comedy-drama about a local donut store owner in an uptown Chicago neighborhood. We get to witness the often daily mundane routine of the shops owner named Arthur Przybyszewski and the relationships with the small circle of friends and customers that we see come in and out of his outdated little shop. In particular, we get to witness a young black man who comes to work at Superior Donuts who manages to have a great impact on Arthur. At first he tries to convince his new boss to update the old donut shops appearance along with making suggestions on how he might go about making a greater effort to try to improve business in general. Instead he stirs up some feelings in Arthur that he almost forgot he had. And of course there are the local cops on the beat that look out for the local merchants as well as the neighborhood hoodlums. All in all, what starts out as a fairly straight forward mellow sort of staging of the daily relationship between Arthur (played by Michael McKean), and his new employee Franco (played by Jon Michael Hill), winds up being lots of laughs as well as witnessing some very deep feelings of just how far friends will go for each other.



Mr. McKean has done some very good work on Broadway, most recently receiving a 2008 Drama Desk Ensemble award in The Homecoming. He has appeared in the 2006 Tony Award winning revival of The Pajama Game and played roles in Hairspray and Accomplice. He has done Off Broadway, film and television. most notably for playing the role of Lenny in Laverne and Shirley. Although I remember the Laverne and Shirley TV show like it was just yesterday, I had never seen him in a serious role before. He does a great job playing the role of Arthur.


Mr. Hill often "steals the show" with several funny lines. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA, is a member of Steppenwolf Theater Company since 2007, has appeared in several shows around the country as well as having had a recurring role on Guiding Light and also made his Opera debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In addition to the two wonderful actors I previously mentioned is a superb supporting cast that includes Jane Alderman, Kate Buddeke, Cliff Chamberlain, Michael Garvey, Robert Maffia, James Vincent Meredith and Yasen Peyankov. All of these talented actors have had a great deal of experience working their theater craft in the city of Chicago, most recently with the Steppenwolf Theater Company. Many people will recall that August:Osage County is a Steppenwolf Theater Company production as well. They know how to create fantastic theater experiences and we are fortunate that shows that originate in Chicago have been making their way to New York City the last few years.

I had the great pleasure to attend a performance of Superior Donuts a few days ago on September 17, 2009. Although it was only the second New York City preview perfomance of Tracy Letts latest play, I simply have to suggest to you to try and get yourself some tickets as soon as you can for this terrific new play. It has everything a show needs to entertain its audience. It's chock full of the right blending of comedy, drama, great acting talent that aims to please every moment they are on the stage, as well as a simple yet excellent staging of the show. Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau who has been involved with 12 productions with Steppenwolf over the years.

Although the new Broadway season only just began this past June 2009, so far it looks to me like Superior Donuts could very well be one of the top contenders for the 2010 Tony Award winning show for Best Play. It will have to compete with several new plays like Wishful Drinking, Race, A Steady Rain and others that surely will appear in New York over the coming months.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and review of Superior Donuts. If you think you might want to see Superior Donuts in the near future, may I suggest you give me a call in New York. I run a company that sells tickets to Superior Donuts and have the ability to get you excellent seats at below face value prices. Simply put, I can get you great seats at less than the usual printed price on the ticket.

One might ask how can you acquire tickets at less than cost? The answer is a simple one. Right now the show is looking to build an audience with word of mouth and hopefully garner really good reviews from the New York critics. Also they will look to win some Tony Awards in June 2010. Until these things begin to happen for Superior Donuts, ticket sales will benefit from our company Applause Theater Service offering you discounted tickets of admission.

You can save the most money for Superior Donuts on Tuesdays through Fridays but I can offer discounted seats for weekend performances as well, so not to worry. I loved Superior Donuts and can see why everyone else will also. Why not pay less and consider buying tickets before it possibly starts selling out?

When calling Applause, you can use our toll free number at 800-451-9930 or call us locally in New York City at 212-307-7050. And be sure to ask for me, Rich Gladstone, also known as the Broadway Ticket Man. No kidding, that's what many folks call me.

All kidding aside, I think I help to run the best ticket agency in the country. Our staff is warm and friendly, we have an excellent knowledge of everything on Broadway and we aim to please. If you think you are interested in other Broadway Theater, we'd love to be of service to you, your friends, family and people you work with.

Have you ever heard the expression "try us, you'll like us"? That's my promise to you today. Whether you need tickets to Broadway Shows or just want to talk about Broadway Theater or anything in New York, all you have to do is pickup the phone.

Enjoy Superior Donuts or the Broadway Show of your choosing. I hope this information was helpful to you.

Take care theater lovers.
Regards,
Rich Gladstone
Applause Theater Service
311 West 43rd Street, suite 601
New York, NY 10036
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