Dinner with Friends (Roundabout Theatre Company)

By Harry Forbes

This is a superbly acted revival of Donald Margulies’ perceptively written Pulitzer Prize winner (in the year 2000) about a pair of upper crust Connecticut couples: Gabe and Karen and their longtime friends Beth and Tom, and what happens to the former's relationship when they learn the latter are divorcing.

Brilliantly directed by Pam MacKinnon, who leads her cast in bringing out every nuance of the narrative, the play is so riveting you hang on every word.

At the start, Gabe (Jeremy Shamos, late of MacKinnon’s “Clybourne Park”) and Karen (Marin Hinkle) seem to have it all as, over the latest of a lifetime of gourmet meals, they enthusiastically share stories of their recent European trip with the meekly silent Beth (Heather Burns), their trapped sounding board. But when Gabe leaves the room to deal with their off-stage children, Beth finally drops the bombshell about the end of her marriage. Tom (Darren Pettie), it seems, has met someone else, a younger travel agent, and the marriage is well and truly finished.

An encounter between Gabe and Tom, who rushes over to tell his pal his own side of the story later that evening, confirms the veracity of Beth’s story.

It seems Gabe and Karen were responsible for bringing their two seemingly mismatched friends together in the first place, as the second act flashback reveals.

But the split will have more impact on the heretofore self-satisfied and complacent Gabe and Karen than their separating pals, and the way in which that psychological disturbance plays out is what gives “Dinner with Friends” its texture and extraordinary poignancy. The climactic meetings of Karen and Beth, and then Gabe and Tom are exquisitely played, with nary a false note.

Allen Moyer’s scenic design – at first a dull gray shell, soon proves highly versatile with set pieces that roll on and off showing the couple’s homes in Connecticut and Martha’s Vineyard, and even a Manhattan bar.

Ilona Somogyi’s costumes and Jane Cox’s lighting are equally classy and apt.

(Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street; roundabouttheatre.org, or 212-719-1300; through April 13)

Bronx Bombers (Circle in the Square)

By Harry Forbes

Eric Simonson’s valentine to the Yankees begins, plausibly enough, with a tense scene in a Boston hotel room as former manager Yogi Berra (a lively Peter Scolari) hopes to use his diplomatic skills to mend the rift between manager Billy Martin (Keith Nobbs) and player Reggie Jackson (Francois Battiste) after 1977’s highly publicized blow-up when Martin took Jackson out of the game. Team captain Thurman Munson (Bill Dawes) is on hand to arbitrate as well.

The play ends with the bittersweet closing day of the old Yankee Stadium, as in the locker room, a now aged Berra takes stock of a long career with Jackson and Derek Jeter (Christopher Jackson) and an idolatrous reporter (Nobbs again) in attendance.

Simonson – who also directed – is expert at turning out these promotional sports plays. (The Yankees and Major League Baseball Properties are among the producers of this one.) I missed his basketball play, “Magic/Bird,” but “Lombardi” was solid enough and allowed Dan Lauria and Judith Light to do strong work.

The centerpiece of “Bronx Bombers,” though, is a most peculiar fantasy sequence – stage smoke and all -- which opens the second act. Berra dreams of a celestial meal with gleaming silver place settings and sparkly chandelier, and the specters of baseball greats, living and deceased: Babe Ruth (C.J. Wilson), Lou Gehrig (John Wernke), Joe DiMaggio (Chris Henry Coffey), Mickey Mantle (Dawes again) and Elston Howard (Battiste again).

They thrash out how the team was once of paramount importance as opposed to the modern-day trend of superstar players dominating the spotlight. But at the end of the day, all the banter is still a loving homage to the team, and everyone – including DiMaggio who enters in a business suit -- eventually dons pinstripes in proud solidarity.

It’s like a Disney World diorama of historical figures come to life. Cliché-ridden and lacking in dramatic tension, if not sentiment (which is in abundant supply), the sequence – which concludes with Gehrig succumbing to the disease that bears his name, poignantly ending the bickering -- is a curious one, but one sure to please Yankee fanatics.

Peter Scolari is first-rate as Berra, striving to maintain the harmony of the great team, and touching in the play’s final moments, and the actor’s actual wife Tracy Shayne plays loving spouse Carmen.

As indicated, there’s some doubling; Christopher Jackson first appears as a hotel bellhop before returning as Jeter.

Designer Beowulf Boritt has attractively transformed Circle in the Square into a mini Yankee Stadium with white arches around the circumference of the auditorium.

Devotees of the Yankees will get a charge out of the play, flaws and all. The general theatergoer should find it more than tolerable.

(Circle in the Square Theatre, West 50th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue; 212-239-6200 and TeleCharge.com)

Outside Mullingar (Manhattan Theatre Club)

By Harry Forbes

Playwright John Patrick Shanley’s first true “Irish” play turns out to be quite the charmer, thanks to its irresistible setup of two mismatched characters, a socially awkward farmer and a strong-willed chain-smoking Irish spitfire who sets her sights on him. The four endearing performances on view only enhance the glow.

Anthony Reilly (Brian F. O’Byrne) works his father Tony’s (Peter Maloney) cattle farm adjoining that of Rosemary Muldoon (Debra Messing) and her mother Aoife (Dearbhla Molloy) in the Irish Midlands. When the play opens, Aoife’s husband has just died, and we learn that neither Tony nor Aoife are not in the best of health, both predicting righly they are not long for this world.

Rosemary learns that the elder Reilly has no intention of leaving the farm to hard-working Anthony who’s devoted himself to the place all his life, but rather to an American cousin. She confesses to the older pair that she secretly loves Anthony – despite an outward grudge for his knocking her down when she was six years old -- and demands Tony leave the farm to Anthony. She declares it is fate that they should manage their properties side by side.

Her impassioned defense of Anthony sets the stage for the rest of the plot which I shan’t spoil here.

The cast is, as indicated, excellent across the board. O’Byrne is expert in this Gallic territory, of course, and plays the painfully awkward and tormented Anthony with poignancy, but the surprise is how beautifully Messing matches him. With her red hair and spot-on Irish accent, she completely inhabits her character, playing with considerable fire and conviction. Their scenes together are wonderfully modulated, as we root for the two of them to get together.

Shanley’s writing is very fine – and this is his most enjoyable play since “Doubt” (though, of course, the two works couldn’t be more different). Still, I couldn’t help feeling it could use a little fine tuning. A sickbed scene between father and son here goes on too long, and becomes a tad maudlin. Some of the bickering between Anthony and Rosemary feels protracted. Perhaps in its post-Broadway run, Shanley will be tempted to iron out the repetitive patches.

But even in its present state, “Outside Mullingar” is richly textured with fine poetic flights of fancy and some delightful twists, and certainly proves a crowd-pleaser, as the enthusiastic ovation affirmed.

Director Doug Hughes draws fine performances from all, and directs with great sensitivity, bringing out Shanley’s theme of overcoming inhibitions and opening up to the joy of love.

John Lee Beatty’s rain-drenched farm house settings Catherine Zuber’s costumes and Mark McCullough’s lighting are similarly attuned.

(Manhattan Theatre Club at The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200)

The New Moon (Light Opera of New York)

By Harry Forbes

This isn’t the first time this fearless little company has attempted a great big operetta that, by all rights, should be well beyond their modest means, but I’m happy to report that yet again, they’ve pretty much pulled it off.

This is not to say that Romberg’s hit-filled “The New Moon” was the production of one’s dreams. Encores came closer to that prize with its memorable staging a few seasons back with considerably greater resources, including a full orchestra and chorus, and a marvelous cast, including Christiane Noll and Rodney Gilfry.

Still, LOONY’s production, with its small-scale accompaniment of piano, percussion, and four strings, under Michael Thomas’ sensitive direction, put the work across more than capably, and in an admirably full musical edition, too. All the famous Romberg tunes – “Lover, Come Back to Me,” “Wanting You,” “Stouthearted Men,” and “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” -- scored as they should, and the lesser known ensemble pieces and comic numbers were given good measure too.

Sarah Callinan as noblewoman Marianne was the vocal standout, handling such numbers as “The Girl on the Prow” and “One Kiss” with ease. Though perhaps a more natural soubrette, she delivered her showpieces with poise and dignity, and showed admirable spirit in the closing scenes of the show where she expresses her support for her revolutionary hero, Robert Mission (the stolid but likable Michael Binkowski) who, at the start of the show, had been serving incognito as a bond-servant in her father’s employ.

In the secondary comic roles, Christopher Nelson was a standout as Robert’s sidekick Alexander, delivering his lines with assured comic timing, and singing with a clear ringing tone, partnering nicely with Christina Hager as his ladylove Julie. Amy Maude Helfer matched Nelson in the comedy department as the man-hungry Clotilde, married (it is discovered) to both Alexander and the boatswain Besac (Zach Appel).

Chad Cygan offered a capable account of the high lying “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” which nearly defeated the admirable tenor in the Encores production who, as I recall, came to grief on the high notes.

The frequent contributions of the vocal ensemble (four men, four women) were a consistent pleasure throughout the evening.

Providing solid non-singing support were the ever-reliable Richard Holmes as the villain Ribaud, a detective sent from France to apprehend Robert, and versatile David Seatter as both Marianne’s father, and later a French official who aids in the plot’s denouement, bringing about a happy ending.

Stefanie Genda’s costumes nicely conjured the 18th century Louisiana period, white powdered wigs for the ladies and all.

Gary Slavin directed most resourcefully with clever little touches throughout, and an assured grasp of the shape of the piece.

Next up is Victor Herbert’s rarely staged “Orange Blossom” (4/25 and 26).

(Light Opera of New York, The Thalia at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, symphonyspace.org or (212) 864-5400; Feb. 5 and 6 only)

Photo: William Reynolds

Machinal (Roundabout Theatre Company)

By Harry Forbes

Sophie Treadwell’s innovative 1928 Expressionist drama inspired (though she denied it at the time) by a real-life murder case was memorably mounted by Britain’s National Theatre in 1993 with Fiona Shaw in the central role of working woman stifled by the conventions of the day, who goes from living with her domineering mother to a loveless marriage with her boss. Ian MacNeil’s set was quite spectacular, as I recall, and under Stephen Daldry’s direction, Shaw gave a riveting performance.

The current revival – its first on Broadway – is smaller in scale, but British actresss Rebecca Hall (in her Broadway debut) is very fine indeed, and her costars are equally adept. These include Suzanne Bertish as the nagging mother, Michael Cumpsty as the excruciatingly earnest husband, and Morgan Spector (in the role originated by a young Clark Gable) as the lover with whom the frustrated young woman experiences her first and only taste of freedom in an overly mechanized world. Spector’s straight-arrow line readings nail the character perfectly.

Es Devlin’s revolving rectangle is quite remarkable. The original production is said to have had a stylized scenic design that suggested the numerous scenes. Here, nearly full sets seem to materialize in rapid and remarkable profusion.

But it is the tremulous Hall who utterly commands our interest, deftly delivering Treadwell’s terse dialogue and stream-of-consciousness poetic outbursts, and creating a convincingly piteous character right up to the poignant final moments.

Lyndsey Turner brilliantly leads her forces in a taut 90 something minutes.

Michael Krass’ period costumes are wonderfully evocative, and Jane Cox’s often murky lighting perfectly evokes the various (mostly bleak) settings.

(American Airlines Theatre on Broadway, 227 West 42nd Street; http://www.roundabouttheatre.org)

Beautiful (Stephen Sondheim Theatre)

By Harry Forbes

Yes, it’s a jukebox musical, and yes, the song placement is strictly of the “and then she wrote” kind, but “Beautiful” – ostensibly the life story of songwriter-turned-singer Carole King – proves more than that.

Douglas McGrath has fashioned an intelligent, often witty story of two songwriting couples – King and her husband Gerry Goffin, and their friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Yes, the story is told in broad, necessarily simplistic strokes, but the quality of the writing and the talent of the four principals makes for absorbing drama as much as a strongly melodic evening. Director Marc Bruni guides his cast through a well-paced narrative.

Weil (Anika Larsen), all tart show-biz savvy, and Mann (Jarrod Spector), womanizing nebbish who seriously falls for Weil, are the comedic sidekicks of traditional musical comedy, which is not to say that their characters, like King and Goffin, aren’t well developed with their own share of poignant moments.

As King, Jessie Mueller continues her impressive journey from strength to strength. She creates an immensely likable figure charting the life from ambitious Brooklyn teenager (born Carole Klein) with songwriting aspirations to hard-working pro in music producer Don Kirshner’s office.

As her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend, then manic-depressive, husband Goffin, Jake Epstein offers a touching, most affecting characterization.

All four sing impressively, and kudos to Brian Ronan’s sound design for a clean, natural projection.

Derek McLane’s set is modest but stylish, alternating between King’s various homes to Kirschner’s offices to performing space.

McGrath’s story arc charts King’s reluctant emergence as a solo artist with a generous offering of the golden songs from that period.

(Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St., Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200)

Pagliacci – The Circus Princess (Amore Opera)

By Harry Forbes

It’s rare that the flavorful Viennese operettas of Emmerich Kalman get an airing around these parts, and when, once every few years, one is mounted, it’s usually “Countess Maritza” or “The Gypsy Princess,” his masterworks.

So Amore Opera is to be greatly commended for putting on “Die Zirkusprincessin” (“The Circus Princess”). Even if not quite in the league of the others mentioned, the work is filled with lively, stirring melodies, and has not been heard in New York since the 1920s.

On this occasion, Julius Brammer and Alfred Grunwald’s original three-act libretto has been neatly adapted and abridged by Amore head Nathan Hull, with English lyrics by Adam Carstairs.

Furthermore, it has been paired with the Leoncavallo’s extravagantly tuneful, clown-themed “Pagliacci,” an idea that probably sounded better on paper, despite Hull shoehorning a few cursory references to the latter into the opening dialogue. In any event, the double-bill made for a rather long evening.

However, matters of length aside, “Pagliacci” was highly satisfying in every respect. Isaac Grier as Tonio got the evening off to a compelling start with his richly vocalized prologue. Paolo Buffagni, despite some announced vocal issues that later prevented him taking the lead in “Circus Princess,” sang impressively as jealous husband Canio, earning cheers for his “Vesti la giubba,” and Megan Nielson acted and vocalized strongly as cheating wife Nedda. Gustavo Morales as lover Silvio and Ki-Taek Song as Beppe were also top-drawer. Hull’s direction brought out the requisite hot-blooded dramatic elements. And conductor Gregory Ortega led the orchestra in a lush, dramatic reading.

His forces were on less solid ground with “Circus Princess,” however. The tempo of the opening bars were rather plodding, and what followed both onstage and in the pit was more than a little chaotic. Kevin Courtemanche, an alternate Canio, gamely essayed the heroic role of Mister X, reading his lines and lyrics from index cards, but despite the understandable tentativeness, sang impressively. Mister X is a circus aerialist who falls for the Merry Widow-like titular heroine, played at my performance by Sofia Dimitrova who was, like others in the cast, frequently overpowered by the orchestra, though she generally sang with sensitivity. The secondary comic couple roles were taken by Dorothy Smith Jacobs (Mabel) and Daniel Kerr (Tony), neither quite right physically or dramatically, but handling their songs pleasantly enough.

Supporting roles were more satisfyingly played by David Seatter as a conniving prince with designs on the princess himself, Jeff Kurnit as the circus owner, Thomas Geib as Baron Rasumovsky, Carla Schlumberger as Kerr’s mother, and William Remmers as the prince’s sidekick.

Glamor and charm, elements so essential in this repertoire, were largely absent. (Courtemanche, for instance, registered as more Wallace Shawn than Rudolf Schock or Fritz Wunderlich), but even so, it was a treat to see how the piece – known to operetta buffs mostly from CD – plays out on stage, and Hull’s dialogue was more creditable and less hokey than that of the Met’s new “Die Fledermaus.”

Despite the roughness of some elements, Kalman’s melodies still managed to captivate. Courtemanche delivered Mister X’s famous opening number, “Two Eyes of Magic” (“Wei Marchenaugen”) more than capably, joined Seatter and the other men for a rousing Hussar number (the liveliest of the evening), while Jacobs and Kerr scored with their “I’m Off to Hollywood” number.

I don’t know how much liberty may have been taken with the dialogue, but the plot mirrored the original faithfully, apart from some unobjectionable embellishments in the denouement.

Let’s hope Amore revisits more of this repertoire in future seasons. In the meantime, I look forward to their “Madama Butterfly” and “The Mikado,” the latter with a children’s cast, both slated for May.

(Amore Opera, Connelly Theatre, 220 E. 4th St.; amoreopera.org or 866-811-4111; through Jan. 5)

Photo: Shuping Lu