The Benowitzes are a pretty theatrical bunch. Starting with my mother who pursued acting and modeling in L.A. in the ’70s, and studied theater at University of California, Irvine with the likes of Jon Lovitz. My brother Brett lives in New York now and is an emerging actor and musician, and I was once a drama major at the University of Georgia (although I lost interest in pursuing acting as a career long before graduation). Even my dad, the straight-laced businessman, can’t resist performing “Johnny Be Good” at his 60th birthday party or appearing as Officer Schrank in my brother’s high school production of West Side Story. In fact, the Benowitzes have shared the stage in many productions, including my sister Kristy and me in Fiddler on the Roof in high school. This weekend, we were all together for the first time in a year in New York City, and it was a pretty theatrical visit.
Brett Benowitz, far left in Under the Greenwood Tree.
The Flea Theater
Our main purpose for the trip was to see Brett perform in Under the Greenwood Tree, a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, at TriBeCa’s Flea Theater in its second production . Founded in 1996, the Off-Off Broadway house is dedicated to the works of independent artists, both emerging and established, and has become a downtown beacon for experimental and new works. With two theaters, Under the Greenwood Tree was staged inside the intimate, black box-style 74-seat main stage theater, and they raised $8,000 to get the show produced. Brett played Orlando, the romantic lead, in a strong ensemble cast, and the show was reviewed in The New York Times. Needless to say, I’m very proud of my little bro and everything he’s doing in the city.
He and his roommate Damian are also in a two-man band called Sham. Their sound is rock-blues-funk and they’ll be performing at Ella Lounge in Alphabet City this Thursday August 22. If you’re in the city, you should check them out. You can listen to their music and learn more about them here. Oh yeah, they wear masks.
Me & my dad at the Apollo Theater.
The Apollo Theater
My dad’s special request on this trip was to see Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater, so we headed uptown for a tour with Billy Mitchell, aka “Mr. Apollo.” Mitchell’s been with the Apollo for 49 years since he got his start as a kid running errands for the stars getting ready to perform. During Amateur Night at the Apollo, he saw a 15-year-old Stevie Wonder perform and a nine-year-old Michael Jackson perform with Gladys Knight. Eventually, James Brown mentored him on the importance of getting an education, and today he helps run the theater.
We toured the theater, learned about its history in the neighborhood, and toured the dressing rooms backstage. There’s a “Wall of Fame” in the wings with signatures ranging from Snoop Dogg to President Obama to Lebron James. There was even an opportunity to perform onstage, and being that the Benowitzes love the limelight, my mom couldn’t resist singing Patsy Cline, my dad reenacted the introduction from the album “James Brown: Live At The Apollo,” and my brother sang Otis Redding. The only thing I could think of at the time was to sing Beyonce’s “If I Were A Boy,” but I was more than content to sit in the audience.
The Music Box Theater
For me, a trip to New York is not complete without catching a Broadway show, and this time it was the revival of the musical Pippin at the Music Box Theater. Originally staged in 1972, it was directed by Bob Fosse and starred Ben Vereen as the Leading Player. This new production won four Tonys–and I was in it in high school–so I was psyched to see a professional production and hear the music again after all those years.
It tells the tale of Pippin, son of King Charlamagne, and his quest to find his “corner of the sky” with the guidance of the bewitching Leading Player, this time played by Patina Miller. After trying his hand at heroics, hedonism, and politics, in the end, it’s the commonplace existence  of every day life (with a woman, her son, and a duck) that Pippin finds most fulfilling. The staging is acrobatic and draw-jopping, and the music and story hold up as much as ever. I find Pippin to be an endearing, existential Everyman journeying through life, while my sister sees him as “a big whiny baby.” I’m pretty sure we’re both right.
