Good Boys and True + Bratwurst = Good Times

When you think of going out for ethnic food, how many of you think, "Ooh, let's go get German"? Anyone? No one? Exactly. My cousin, Daphne, was in the city this week visiting from Boston and wanted to go someplace fun for dinner. The usually suspects came up - Vynl, Nizza, Whym - and then I thought, "What about Hallo Berlin? - sausage, beer AND outdoor seating!" Well, it ended up being the perfect choice. The weather was gorgeous. And who doesn't enjoy beer (well, actually Trish and I had some yummy apple wine instead), potato pancakes and sausage, sausage, sausage!? A vegetarian, I guess. But who would want to go out to dinner with one of those? Anyway, the place was packed and by the time we left, there was a line of eager Deutshephiles waiting to pounce on our center patio table.

After a pit stop at Ben & Jerry's - real ice cream tastes like fudge after eating only skinny cow for the last couple of months - Trish and I headed to Second Stage to pick up our TDF tickets. Arriving at the theatre I really had no expectations, having only read a post or two about this play on the chat boards. My initial impression? It’s a really interesting premise that needs a more satisfying ending. Maybe a sequel? It’s like they ran out of time to rehearse the second act so they decided to just present the first act and hope no one would notice. Not that I necessarily expect a fairy tale ending with all the loose ends tied up, but the play seemed to literally end smack dab in the middle of a scene. Like on TV shows when they build up to some earth-shattering event and then go to commercial. Except in this case, it just went to curtain call. That said, the ninety minute intermissionless play (is this becoming a trend? A Catered Affair, Glory Days, now this) flew by. I was definitely never bored.

The issues of class privilege, chauvinism, homophobia and the “old boy” network are all intertwined and make for some very pointed criticism of the economic elite in the US. Luckily, the play never sinks to soap opera melodrama thanks to sharp, intelligent writing by playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Although the opening fifteen or twenty minutes seemed clunkily under-rehearsed - I started to get nervous that I was going to be in for a very long evening of stiff acting - the cast eventually settled down and relaxed into their characters and into the high emotional stakes of the situation. It’s interesting to note that the action is set in the 1980’s, a time when gay teens were still pretty much closeted (not that it’s changed a whole lot in the last twenty years, but it is definitely better). This play is definitely worth seeing for both content and quality of acting (and an extended locking room scene, yowzah!) but it’s likely to ruffle some feathers with some Upper East Side prep school alums who may feel it hits a little too close to home.

Incidentally, Trish and I were seated way up in the back of the theater and right before curtain a stage manager approached us and offered us empty house seats (sixth row center). How lucky is that?