Venice

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VENICE

Photo: The Public Theater

Cititour.com Review
The Public Theater’s latest offering, Venice, is blessed with enough talent, ambition, and plot twists for two musicals. So it’s hardly surprising that the piece is rarely less than engaging, and occasionally brilliant. Still, it can be frustrating that creators Eric Rosen and Matt Sax haven’t been able to sharpen the piece into the one dynamite show it could be.

A loose riff on Shakespeare’s Othello, the work – set in the war-torn city of Venice – focuses on rebel leader Venice Monroe (Haaz Sleiman), who is reunited with childhood sweetheart Willow Turner (Jennifer Damiano). The daughter of the country’s now-dead president, she has spent the last 20 years living away from the city in the “safe zone,” but has escaped with help of pal Michael Victor (Claybourne Elder). This turn of events doesn’t sit well with Willow’s fiancé, wealthy industrialist Theodore Westbrook (Jonathan David), and especially Venice’s wily older half-brother, General Markos Monroe (former Smash star Leslie Odom Jr.), whose plot for revenge fuels the sometimes muddled action.

For reasons not entirely clear, the piece is narrated at times by a “Clown MC” (played by Sax, who is truly delightful) and relies a bit too heavily on complicated projections (by Jason H. Thompson), both of which add unnecessary elements to the already complex tale. The musical styles, as well, range rather too diversely, from hip-hop and rap to rock to slightly more traditional theater-pop, with the gorgeous “Sunrise” and Damiano’s plaintive, beautifully sung “If Only” among the standout numbers.

If there was one thing I wanted more of, it would be Chase Brock’s inventive, energetic choreography. Rosen also makes excellent use of the Public’s Anspacher Theater, although audiences who prefer that the fourth wall is kept firmly in place might be a tad uncomfortable at times.

While one roots for Sleiman's and Damiano’s characters to live happily ever after (which you know won’t happen), their slightly bland performances pale in comparison to the work of the extraordinarily charismatic Odom and the soulful Victoria Platt as his wife Emilia. In addition, David brings a welcome level of sympathy to Westbrook, and there are excellent contributions from the fierce Uzo Aduba as Venice and Markos’ late mother, Anna, and Angela Polk as the Rihanna-like singer Hailey Daisy, who becomes a pawn in Markos’ deadly game.

While Venice has been in development for many years, and has had two previous professional productions, one last visit to the drawing board might still be in order.

By Brian Scott Lipton


Visit the Site
http://publictheater.org

Open/Close Dates
Opening 5/28/2013
Closing 6/30/2013


Theatre Info
Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003
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