The Rise And Fall of Annie Hall; Laughing With and at Woody
Annie Hall: The Musical.
Does the concept cause chills of horror to run down your spine? An odd thrill of excitement? An eye roll and a laugh? Complete and total apathy?
Unless your response is the fourth, you've got a reason to check out The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, a new play with music from Sam Forman. The plot, after all, revolves around Henry (Josh Lefkowitz), a nebbish little composer with his sights set on pulling off such a feat – if only he can get in good with the folks who are controlling the rights. But if the amusing presence isn't enough to grab your attention, the play has more than its premise going for it.
For one thing, it's laugh-out-loud funny. Whether the target is Woody Allen himself, Jews or modern societal references from Twitter to Gawker, the jokes land their punches. The dialogue – with the exception of an excessive number of "man"s and "dude"s thrown in almost without regard for character – also feels extremely natural. I'm not sure I've seen a typical late-night "relationship" discussion that seemed more real than the one that takes place between Henry and his girlfriend, Annie (the engaging Tessa Klein).
There's also the welcome presence of Alexander Strain, who plays the Tortured Genius who's currently working on the non-lyrical-end-of-things for the musical in progress. Strain perfectly captures how painful self-involvement can also be charismatic, while making the audience feel they're in on the joke, and much too smart to be taken in by such a fraud. Hearing him wax on about how terrible it was to grow up in a show biz family never ceases to amuse.
Due to the script, Lefkowitz's job is to interact casually with the audience. On the night I attended, this was admittedly a tough task – no one seemed eager to play along, even at the script's brightest moments – and the actor seemed visibly uncomfortable throughout a good chunk of he first act. It doesn't help that he's working with what's essentially a very grating character – snobby, weak, egotistical and ready to trade in his girlfriend of more than a decade for a thrill. But Lefkowitz relaxes into the roll enough during the second act to strike up a reasonable rapport regardless.
About that less-than-enthusiastic audience. There's something surreal about watching a play that features Facebook as a major plot point in a crowd where the walkers literally outnumbered the individuals under 35. it's a cheap shot, but it's also an important point. Forman's out there producing a fresh, contemporary script that may not have a grand theme or point, but is amusing and witty enough to capture the attention of a younger generation of theatregoers. He needs an audience – there's enough value in Annie Hall to give him one.
The Rise And Fall of Annie Hall runs through May 24 at Theater J. Tickets are available online.