Who is this Anita Gates you speak of?

A.G.’s journalistic triumphs over 25 years at The New York Times include drinking with Bea Arthur (at a Trump hotel), Wendy Wasserstein (at an Italian restaurant) and Peter O’Toole (in his trailer on a mini-series set near Dublin). It is sheer coincidence that these people are now dead.

At The New York Times, she has been Arts & Leisure television editor and co-film editor, a theater reviewer on WQXR Radio, a film columnist for the Times TV Book and an editor in the Culture, Book Review, Travel, National, Foreign and Metro sections. Her first theater review for The Times appeared in 1997, assessing “Mrs. Cage,” a one-act about a housewife suspected of shooting her favorite supermarket box boy. The review was mixed.

Outside The Times, A.G. has been the author of four nonfiction books; a longtime writer for travel magazines, women's magazines and travel guidebooks; a lecturer at universities and for women’s groups; and a moderator for theater, book, film and television panels at the 92nd Street Y and the Paley Center for Media.

If she were a character on “Mad Men,” she’d be Peggy.

Why The New York Times Hated 'Gettin' the Band Back Together' (Should You?)

Anita Gates
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Return of the Sayreville 7+ 

Marilu Henner stars, with a lot of guys,  as the sexy mom in "Gettin' the Band Back Together" at the Belasco Theater.  

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GETTIN' THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

Belasco Theater. Opened on Aug. 13. / "Empty-headed entertainment ... a calculated rehash of a million tired tropes." -- Jesse Green, The New York Times

 

LET'S GET THREE things straight.

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(1) If you grew up in New Jersey, if you ever set foot in the Hunka Bunka Ballroom or the Peterpank Diner, chances are good that you will get a huge kick out of "Gettin' the Band Back Together." My press-night guest, DPP,  a Manhattan sophisticate with a Jersey back story, almost died of happiness a couple of times. Even I, who have never spent more than two consecutive nights in the Garden State, smiled when I heard that one character, a police officer, had seasons tickets to the Paper Mill Playhouse. (The Paper Mill is a prestigious regional theater in Millburn, N.J.)

(2) If you had seen  the world premiere of "Gettin' the Band Back Together" five years ago at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J., you probably would have liked it. Yes, as a critic, I do have different standards for regional theater and for Broadway. I had some complaints about that 2013 production when I reviewed it for The New York Times, but overall I found it genuinely amusing with a let's-just-have-fun spirit. 

(3) Yes, the show does seem smaller, now that it's at the 1,000-seat Belasco Theater on West 44th Street. But that doesn't mean it's a loser. 

The Times critic is HALF RIGHT, HALF WRONG.

Jesse Green is eminently right about one part of his criticism: This story has been told a few times before.   

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NOT THE VILLAGE PEOPLE  But the members of Mitch's old high school band, Juggernaut, do have grown-ups jobs now, including dentist and cop.

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A suburban guy who isn't a kid anymore (in this version, Mitch Papadopoulos, a recently fired Wall Street type  played with likable humility by Mitchell Jarvis) moves back home when things go wrong in his supposedly successful adult life.

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He has amusing interactions with one or more parents (in this case, his mother, played by Marilu Henner in skinny jeans and upbeat humor), runs into both his old girlfriend (Kelli Barrett, in photo, as Dani Franco) and his old nemesis (Brandon Williams as Tygen Billows, center in photo) and, for practical economic reasons, has to reunite his old garage band from high school days, an experience that is almost certain to bring him grief, consternation, laughs, revelations and ultimately, at the very least, a spiritual renewal. 

And there you have it.  It's not "Hamilton." It's not "Three Tall Women." And I do hope they've stopped having a producer give that pre-curtain announcement about how original the show is. But "Gettin' the Band Back Together" has its charms.

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THE HARDEST THING YOU CAN TELL A FRIEND Jay Kleitz, left, sings "I Slept With Your Mother" to his old school pal Mitch.

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There's the innovative "Hava Nagila" played by Juggernaut, Mitch's band, at its first gig in years: Shlomo and Esther's wedding. There's a lot of Jersey love, with affectionate yet meaningful lyrics like "It's not New York, but you can pay your bills." Mitch and Dani have one haunting love song, brimming with youthful nostalgia: "(I Swear It Was the) Best Day of My Life." And there's perhaps the song of the decade: "I Slept With Your Mom" (the actual title is "Bart's Confession"). Mitch's pal Bart (Jay Klaitz, on left in photo) sings it to him. Because it's true.

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Gettin' the Band Back Together, Belasco Theater, 111 West 44th Street. gettinthebandbacktogether.com. Book by Ken Davenport and the Grundleshotz. Music and lyrics by Mark Allen. Additional material by Sarah Saltzberg. Musical direction by Sonny Paladino. Choreography by Chris Bailey. Directed by John Rando.

READ MORE: ABOUT "HEAD OVER HEELS"

READ MORE: ABOUT "PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL"

READ MORE: ABOUT THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE MONTH: LOTS OF TRUMPS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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