Nathan Lane
plays the title role in The Nance, now playing at the Lyceum Theatre. The play showcases the 1930s era look at
homosexuality and stereotypes both in the theater and off-stage. It is the story of Chauncey Miles, a
burlesque “nance”, the effeminate comic relief between stripper numbers. Usually the “nance” on stage was played by a
straight man, but Chauncey is homosexual in his private life as well.
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| Nathan Lane and Jonny Orsini in The Nance |
But in the
1930s, homosexual in private life was not easy.
Chauncey is part of a community of sly winks, quick looks and furtive
rendezvouses. He is a successful
performer on stage, with a close family that knows he is gay. The Nance opens with Chauncey picking up a
sex partner in an Automat, Ned a straight looking young man from Buffalo. Ned is broke and Chauncey picks him up as
trade, so it is a surprise when Ned wants to stay and be with Chauncey. Chauncey suddenly has to navigate the world
of relationships.
The first
act is a fun trip through the family of burlesque, watching the nance in action
on stage and watching Ned and Chauncey navigate relationships in real
life. Outside the theater, the mayor of
New York (LaGuardia) is cracking down on burlesque. The strippers and the queer that inhabit
burlesque houses don’t present the image Mayor LaGuardia is cultivating for the
Worlds Fair City. But it is all still a
few steps or theaters away – until it isn’t.
And Chauncey can’t help himself from standing up to the hypocrisy.
The second
act starts fast, with Chauncey giving a court room soliloquy that is, by turns,
funny, biting and painfully honest. But
the second act deals with the closure of the theater and the slow implosion of
Ned and Chauncey’s relationship – and it is necessarily solemn. Ned is committed to Chauncey, but that isn’t
the world Chauncey grew up in. Chauncey
is a Republican and sees Commies all around him, what he can’t see is a future
as a gay man. He transfers his
self-frustrations into critics of Ned.
Nathan Lane
is excellent in the role. He is
hilarious on the burlesque stage, funny off stage and believable as a gay man
who doesn’t really think there is a place for him in the world. As Ned, Broadway newcomer Jonny Orsini is
terrific. Born in the wrong time, Ned is
hopelessly in love with Chauncey, doomed to be let down. But Mr. Orsini is never down in the mouth,
his Ned is fun and excited to be experiencing life. To the very end Ned has trust that life is on
the upswing.
The rest of
the cast is made up of the burlesque crew, Geoffrey Allan Murphy, Jenni Barber,
Cady Huffman and Andrea Burns play the performers. A sort of family, losing the theater crushes
their spirit. Ms. Barber as Joan burns
up the joint. These players bring the
burlesque stage to life in a riot of colors, feathers and bad jokes.
The Nance is
an interesting and entertaining show, but a little long. The second act runs towards the maudlin and,
despite the excellent portrayals, you just want it to wrap up already. Director Jack O’Brien and playwright Douglas
Carter Beane have brought a great new play to life, shining a light on the
recent past.
The Nance
Playwright: Douglas Carter Beane
Director: Jack O’Brien
Cast: Nathan Lane, Jonny Orsini, Jenni
Barber, Andrea Burns, Cady Huffman and Geoffrey Allan Murphy
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