Jonny Orsini (from Broadway's 'The Nance') Will Be Doing a Live Q&A Tomorrow on Facebook

Jonny Orsini, who made his Broadway debut working alongside Nathan Lane in The Nance, will be doing a live Q&A session from 4 - 4:30PM tomorrow on Lincoln Center Theater's Facebook site.

The Nance opened April 15^th and has been extended through August 11th at the Lyceum Theater (149 West 45^th Street).

Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance recreates the raucous world of burlesque's heyday and tells the story of Chauncey Miles (Nathan Lane) and his fellow performers.  The Nance is a tale of Miles’ struggle to balance his belief that he can find happiness being a part of ‘mainstream / conservative’ New York with his onstage flamboyant persona and his offstage love affair with Ned (Jonny Orsini).  Miles’ strong conviction that both his onstage and offstage personas are a normal part of the social fabric during Mayor LaGuardia’s cleanup of New York and his self-loathing for being unable to be a part of mainstream society leads to him to sabotage both his personal and professional life. 



The Nance is running seven shows a week (in addition to Wed – Sat nightly shows, there are 2:00PM shows on Wednesday and Saturday and a 3:00PM show on Sunday) and tickets range from $37 - $127.

Links:
The Nance

The Nance (Staring Nathan Lane and Jonny Orsini) - Broadway Show Review / Show Runs Through June 16th

When watching Nathan Lane star in the new Broadway play The Nance, it is hard not to make comparisons to Lane’s role in the 1996 film “The Birdcage”. While “The Birdcage” was a ‘feel good’ that ended with (pre-Tea Party) conservative Republican Senator Kevin Keeley (essentially) accepting that his new in-laws are a gay couple, Nathan Lane’s character in The Nance never breaks free of the stereotypes and bigotry of that era.

Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance recreates the raucous world of burlesque's heyday and tells the story of Chauncey Miles (Nathan Lane) and his fellow performers. In the 1930s, burlesque impresarios welcomed the hilarious comics and musical parodies of vaudeville to their decidedly lowbrow niche. A headliner called "the nance" was a stereotypically camp homosexual and master of comic double entendre - usually played by a straight man.

The Nance is a tale of Miles’ struggle to balance his belief that he can find happiness being a part of ‘mainstream/conservative’ New York with his onstage flamboyant persona and his offstage love affair with Ned (Jonny Orsini).  Miles’ strong conviction that both his onstage and offstage personas are a normal part of the social fabric during Mayor LaGuardia’s cleanup of New York and his self-loathing for being unable to be a part of mainstream society leads to him to sabotage both his personal and professional life.  Lane’s comic delivery is dead-on perfect as he puts a veneer of deliciously wicked wit over Miles’ self-loathing.  The audience can see Miles visible struggle with his two personas as he attempts to reign himself in onstage when City License Commissioner Paul Moss is in the audience one night at the burlesque house.  Ultimately, Miles can’t reign in his demons and he ‘turns up’ the nance act for Moss, which results in the theater being closed, and follows this by sabotaging his relationship with Ned.  The play ends where it started – with Miles alone and looking for anonymous sex.  In spite of the play’s bittersweet ending, Lane’s character makes it clear that he has the strength to survive another day.

The Nance opened April 15^th and runs through June 16th at the Lyceum Theater (149 West 45^th Street).  There are seven shows a week (in addition to Wed– Sat nightly shows, there are 2:00PM shows on Wednesday and Saturday and a 3:00PM show on Sunday) and tickets range from $37 - $127. 

Links:

The Nance