After submerging myself into new mommydom, I feel as though my brain stirred for the first time in 6.75 months. This is by no means the fault of the city in which I live or the people in my life, by the way. A night out at Lincoln Center Lyceum Theater’s latest production, THE NANCE , opened my eyes to the hypocrisy of the time, the joy of the burlesque, and the search for love in the automat. And of course, who doesn’t love a cheesy vaudeville skit and pasties?
This is the first time my brain has been tickled in months and I loved the constant stream of racy double entendres and the dry sharp wit and vaudeville showmanship of Nathan Lane. Set in 1930’s New York, the play stars Nathan Lane as Chauncey Miles, a vaudeville performer whose stage specialty is the ‘nance’ routine. The twist here is that unlike most ‘nance’ performers of the time Chauncey actually is a homosexual, and openly so. Against his “better judgment” Chauncey meets and begins a relationship with Ned (Jonny Orsini), a naïve young man he meets at the notorious Horn & Hardart Automat. Ned becomes a fixture in Chauncey’s life as he joins the cast of the show at the Irving Place Theater. A staunch Republican and supporter of Mayor La Guardia, Chauncey’s private and public selves come under attack when the administration begins cracking down on burlesque houses, specifically on acts featuring the ‘nance’ for the moral protection of the masses. Nathan Lane is brilliant in the role of Chauncey, and makes you laugh from his first campy “Hi”.
The casting of Chauncey’s straight man, Efram (Lewis J. Stadlen) is the perfect balance, as are the choices of the leading ladies, Cady Huffman, Jenni Barber and Andrea Burns as they prance, preen and strut with attitude and insight.
A thoroughly good night out, as I reenter the adult conversation….”Meet me round the corner in a half an hour.”
The Nance is playing through June 16th. You can purchase tickets at Telecharge.
About writer Lisa Gerstel-Zach: A diverse and seasoned executive who has spent her career in Children’s and Family Entertainment via Publishing, Live Events and Broadcast before stepping back to take a much earned reprieve from the Corporate world in order to reinvent herself and remember why she moved to New York. She lives in the latest hip neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
Disclosure: The writer received a complimentary pair of tickets to facilitate this review but all opinions are her own.
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