theatre review CLYBOURNE PARK, Broadway, March 30

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The new Broadway play Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris comes to Broadway with a pretty high pedigree.  It won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2011 Olivier Award for Best New Play.  I'm not certain if  it is because I went in with somewhat high expectations knowing the play had won those awards but I was basically underwhelmed by the play.

Set in a house in Chicago's Clybourne Park district, the play tells the story of two different sets of characters.  In act one, set in 1959, those characters include a middle aged white couple who experience a tragedy in their lives and are moving out of their house in just a few days.  Various members of their community come to visit them one day when they learn that the family the house has been sold to isn't white.  The concern as to what this will do to the rest of the area is the driving force to try to get the couple to change their minds about selling the house to this family.  However the husband doesn't want to listen to their concerns since they all pretty much turned their backs on him and his wife before and after they experienced the tragedy that had a huge impact on their lives.

In act two, set in 2009, we see the same house, now in disarray, and the young white urban couple who are in the final stages to begin demolishing the house after they recently purchased it. You see, because the neighborhood is so close to downtown, white families are looking to move back into the area, so even though the community is run down, it is suddenly hot again.  The couple are surrounded by members of the homeowners association and their lawyer as it seems their plans aren't exactly in line with the by laws of the association.  The concern is that their house will now be larger then those surrounding it and of a more modern architecture, thus providing concern as to what it will do to the neighborhood. 

Christina Kirk and Frank Wood

The play touches on many themes and ideas.  Everything from racism, sexism and racial integration to issues around class, housing, the gentrification of neighborhoods and how people feel about their neighbors is present.  And a key element is how the perceptions neighbors have when their fellow neighbor's children come back from fighting overseas might not be exactly correct and could eventually not only force a family to move out of the area but for their son to commit suicide.

While Clybourne Park is a well written and acted play, I guess the major issue I had with it is that it is supposed to be a take off or homage to the classic drama A Raisin in the Sun.  The house the play is set in is the same one that the family in A Raisin in the Sun is moving into, as the black family in that play is the family who bought the house.  Even a minor character in Raisin is a character in Clybourne Park, the one most desperate and forceful about getting the family in act one not to sell the house.  But if you didn't know that connection going in, which I'm not sure the average theater goer would know, I'm not sure how it is relevant to the play,  it is more like Norris is simply staying, "look how cool I am that I wrote this play set in the same house mentioned in this other classic drama and touching on some of the same issues in that famous play."  And while I understand that Norris is trying to get the point across that basically nothing has changed over fifty years as it concerns racism, to me that point has been made by other plays and movies and, in better ways then in this play.

Christina Kirk, Jeremy Shamos, Annie Parisse, Brendan Griffin,
 Damon Gupton and Crystal A. Dickinson

Also, in attempting to be controversial and comical, it just comes off as mundane and even somewhat amateurish due to the constant laziness in act two on drawing upon racial jokes to show us how nothing has changed.  And the fact that the seven member cast plays the characters in both acts, and only two of the actors are black, means that in act two when the community is supposed to be an African American community it still seems like it is the whites that are running the show.   It would have been nice to see this show have a larger cast and to really see how even when the tables turn, and the whites aren't in the majority, that the African Americans who now live in or own the houses in this community still exhibit many of the same actions that the white families did 50 years ago.

Now I did like how several comments or scenes in act one were replayed but with different results in act two, especially a joke about skiing.  And the constant interruption of the character's cell phones in act two that gets in the middle of important conversations was perfectly delivered and oh so accurate. Also, the cast was pretty good, especially Frank Wood and Christina Kirk as the couple selling the house in act one.  Kirk so perfectly portrayed the part of the condescending 1950's housewife and the lawyer in act two who always has to turn the conversation back to herself.  Jeremy Shamos and Annie Parisse are also quite good as a married couple in both acts, in act one it is Shamos' character who is desperate to get the house sale not finalized and in act two they are the couple renovating the house.  Crystal A. Dickinson is the black domestic helper in act one who tries her best to ignore the condescending behavior of her employer.  As good as she is, I just wish that her character in act two wasn't drawn from the same mold as her act one character.

Unlike Raisin in the Sun, I don't think Cybourne Park will be remembered in fifty years except as a footnote to that other famous play.  So, count me in the minority for my reaction to this play, though at Friday night's performance there were only about a half dozen people who stood up during the curtain call, so this might be a play that the critics love but most audiences, like me, are left wanting more.

Official Show Site

Highlights from the show:

cd review ROBERT CREIGHTON, Ain't We Got Fun

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Wow!  The new cd from Robert Creighton might just be the best debut recording from a Broadway performer in years.  And why I say that is not only due to Creighton's impressive vocal abilities, the song selections and the Broadway guest stars he has included but also because Creighton completely avoids all of the fall backs Broadway performers seem to lean on when releasing a debut recording.  There are no songs from Sondheim or Lloyd Webber, no story songs from some hip or up and coming composer and except for two original songs, the most recent selection was written in 1944.  This is definitely not your usual Broadway debut solo cd.

Now while Creighton isn't exactly a household or even an A list Broadway name, like his costars in his recent Broadway show Anything Goes Joel Grey and Sutton Foster, he has appeared in numerous Broadway shows including Chicago, The Little Mermaid,  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Lion King.  The two original songs on this cd are from a new musical about Jimmy Cagney that Creighton co-created, starred in and wrote the songs for, simply called Cagney!, but more on those songs later.

The cd starts off with a "Dad's Medley" that gives us the brief back story of Creighton and how as a young boy he would perform for his family.  A bouncy "Ain't We Got Fun" is next followed by one of the impressive new songs from Cagney!, "Crazy 'Bout You" that features some talented guitar playing by Eric B. Davis.  It fits perfectly within the other, older standards on the cd, which is a high compliment.  One of my favorite tracks on the recording is "My Buddy" that includes a lovely guitar arrangement that not only gives Davis another chance to shine but also is highlighted by the way Creighton's phrasing and his voice drives home the meaning of the lyrics in a simple, understated way.

The first of Creighton's guest stars is Tituss Burgess who starts off "Accentuate the Positive" with his usual flair.  Creighton joins in by adding a lovely counterpoint with "Look for the Silver Lining" that pairs perfectly with Burgess with both men hitting some impressive notes at the end.  A fun barbershop quarter arrangement of "I Want a Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) with Daniel J. Edwards, John Treacy Egan, Merwin Foard and Brent-Alan Huffman includes some great harmonies backing Creighton up and has a really great finish. 

Now, back to those two original songs from Creighton and Cagney!:  The next track is my favorite song on the cd, called "Fallin' In Love With You."  It is a lovely duet with great lyrics, perfect musical phrasing and is supported by a lovely arrangement.  Creighton is joined by Kate Baldwin on this track and the two of them are definitely having a fun time together.  Cagney! had its world premiere in Florida three years ago and based on the two songs from the show on this cd I hope Creighton is able to get a production in New York happening soon.

"If You Were The Only Girl in the World" is my second favorite track on the recording.  It has a great arrangement and Creighton's vocals on this track are so impressive with his perfect delivery of the simple meaning behind the lyrics.  Heidi Blickenstaff joins in for a lively "You Are My Sunshine" that is followed by a touching and very emotional take on "I'll Be Seeing You" that features some impressive flugelhorn playing by Joe Burgstaller.

An impressive arrangement of "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" perfectly compliments Creighton's vocals.  I love how Creighton's whistling at the end of the song is mirrored by the instruments. Next up are two tracks closely associated with James Cagney when he portrayed George M. Cohan in the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy.  "Give My Regards to Broadway" features a lovely duet with Joel Grey and the joy the two men are having signing together comes through on the recording.  Creighton actually understudies for Grey in Anything Goes.  An upbeat "Yankee Doodle Dandy" follows including a lovely tap solo in the middle.

The final track on the cd is a lovely version of "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" with no vocal but instead a touching trumpet solo.  While this might seem a little odd if you don't have the liner notes handy, but when checking them you will see that it is Creighton himself imitating a trumpet solo with his lips - and what a lovely solo it is.  The man seems like he can do just about anything.

The cd was produced by Georgia Stitt who also provided many of the arrangements as well as most of the piano accompaniment.   This is an impressive effort by Stitt.

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Cagney! and seeing and hearing more of Creighton in the future.

theatre review, COCK, Off Broadway, May 8

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This past year has seen a plethora of new plays that have been received very well by both critics and audiences.  Other Desert Cities, Venus in Fur, Peter and the Starcatcher, Clybourne Park and The Lyons are at the top of that well received new play heep with many of these plays having transferred from off Broadway to Broadway with the first four in the running for the Tony for Best Play this year. 
Now comes a somewhat controversial play, Cock, who's title alone elicits both nervous laughter as well as intrigue.  Interestingly enough of all of the new plays I saw this year, including many in that illustrious list above, Cock is the one that is still playing in my mind days after seeing it.  It is not only that good of a play but one of the most ingeniously directed plays I've seen in a long time. 

Jason Butler Harner and Cory Michael Smith

The premise of the play is simple and when stated in two sentences actually sounds a little like a plot in a soap opera as well as somewhat hokey - John decides it is time to take a break in his relationship with his boyfriend and when he does he unexpectedly falls for a woman even though he had never had those kind of feelings before.  He must then choose which one he wants to be with.  Like I said, a bit hokey and simple. 
However playwright Mike Bartlett has crafted a 90 minute play with such depth that it is unlike anything I've seen in a long time.  Simple it isn't.   

Jason Butler Harner, Amanda Quaid and Cory Michael Smith

John, played by Cory Michael Smith is the younger member of the gay couple at the center of the play.  Jason Butler Harner is "M" the older and more controlling half.  He exudes control but also a strong need to have John in his life.  We've seen Harner in several plays before and this is a truly breakout role for him.  Smith is also doing great work here in a part that requires many quiet moments.

While it is easy to see why these two should take a break in their relationship, Bartlett has written such smart dialogue for both of them, and the other two characters as well, that one can also see how connected the two are.  Bartlett doesn't need to add extraneous material in order for us to completely understand exactly what is going on between these two, while they should be together as well as why they shouldn't.  The play might sound intense but it also contains smartly written dialogue that adds a considerable amount of humor to the intense situations. 

Amanda Quaid is "W," the woman whom John meets and falls in love with.  She is perfect in the part with the right balance, like Harner, of control and need.  The interesting irony is the only difference between "M" and "W" is their sex, as they are both extremely controlling people who aren't really that nice to John as both of them want what they want.  When the three come together that is when the real fighting begins as both "M" and "W" make their moves to sway John to pick them as the victor in the ultimate "cock fight."  And, while John seems like a nice, young and attractive guy, so we can easily see why both "M" and "W" desire him, he also is a very indecisive person and obviously sexually confused.  So all three main characters have their pros and cons, just like real people, and are likable enough to see why John is drawn to them and vise versa, but at the same time they are all somewhat unlikable as well - again, all naturally realistic characters.
The fourth character in the play is "F," "M's" father.  Cotter Smith plays the part with the requisite amount of charm and love toward his son.  He is fighting for his son's relationship as well, something any gay kid would love to have his father do for him.  Interestingly enough Smith recently played the father of a gay character in the play Next Fall, but in that play he played the father a gay person would never want to have.
Bartlett has crafted a very intriguing character in John, one who can't quite figure out how he fits in the various "labels" that the modern world puts on people, as "gay" and "bi" and even "straight" don't seem to help him find his way.  It is an interesting point of view and opened my eyes to how society "rewards" or acknowledges people for certain things like "coming out" as well as how sometimes what might seem like the easy way might not be that easy at all - ie: living a straight lifestyle.  As a gay man I always thought that a "bi" man who lived a "straight" life was really gay but just couldn't admit it and I never imagined a character like "John" who starts out living a gay life but then finds himself drawn toward women really existed, but after seeing Cock I now find myself having a different understanding for people who say they are "bi" as well as for those who feel they don't quite fit in.   Like I said before, this play has really opened my eyes to many things.

Cory Michael Smith, Cotter Smith,
Jason Butler Harner and Amanda Quaid

Smith perfectly plays the confusing and sexual intrigue that the role of "John" requires and I'm looking forward to seeing what other roles the future holds for him.

Besides the smart dialogue, what elevates the play into something out of the ordinary has to do with the way the play is staged.  The entire action of the play takes place on a circular stage that is surrounded on all sides by five rows of seats inside a large walled wooden auditorium.   The setting is reminiscent of where one imagines an actual cock fight would take place.  Not only are we as the audience no more than twenty or so feet from the actors but we can see every audience member throughout the play as there is no theatrical lighting here with the audience lit as fully as the actors.  We are watching the "fight" unfold in front of us as well as everyone's reaction to it just like we would at a prize fight.  The picture above gives you an idea as to the stage setup, you just have to imagine an audience filling in the bleachers behind the actors. 
We are witnesses to every fight and plee that each character undertakes, and this is a play filled with many loud arguments and emotional outbursts.  Director James Macdonald, who also staged the London run of the play, has not only drawn perfect performances from his four actors, he has also created some scenes that will forever be etched in my memory.  Two of them that quickly come to mind- the scene where John and "W" have sex for the first time which is staged as a dance between two people moving around in a semi-circle as they come closer and closer to each other, reminiscent in some ways of two fighters dancing around their target, and the final scene where what John doesn't say tells us exactly what he is thinking.  And, back to that sex scene for a moment - there is such a rawness and nakedness to the character's in the play but since this is a minimalistic approach even in that sex scene the actors remain completely clothed even though the characters are obviously not.  I can't think of a sex scene in a play that is more real and more emotional only in the words that are spoken since nothing sexual is seen during it.   The same can be said about the rest of the play, it is emotional and raw without the trappings of sets and costumes that most plays feel they need to have.  
For the majority of the play between each scene is a simple bell tone as if to indicate the end of one round and the beginning of another just like you'd hear at a fight. The only thing missing was a spit bucket for each character and a towel to wipe off the sweat.  As much as I liked that correlation to an actual fight, the end of the round bell sound virtually disappears toward the last half of the play as the scenes got longer. I think the bell needed to keep ringing as the stakes got higher and the outcome kept switching, especially since during those last longer scenes there were natural breaks when characters move from one "room" in an apartment to another, so the bell sound could still have worked as a scene break.  But that is a small quibble when compared to the sheer brilliance of this place and how it is staged.   
The only problems with this production have to do with the somewhat pretentious use of "M" "W" and "F" as character's names - I'm assuming Bartlett means "man" "woman" and "father" but why not just give them names like he did for John?  Also, the somewhat uncomfortable nature of the bleachers is a major deterrent. Though, I don't know if maybe that was the intent as when you're eavesdropping on all of these private moments maybe you shouldn't be so comfortable in doing so. 
Still, Cock is one of the most original, intelligent and thought provoking plays I've seen in a very long time- highly recommended.
all photos credit: Joan Marcus
Official Show Site

theatre review THE 39 STEPS, George Street Playhouse, May 12

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I am a huge fan of the films of Alfred Hitchcock.  And since Hitchcock himself was known for his sense of humor it is only natural that one of his earliest films has been whipped into a comic gem of a theatrical soufflé.   

Hitchcock's film The 39 Steps was based on the novel by John Buchan and was such a successful film that the 1935 film has been remade several times.  While some of those remakes have stayed closer to the Buchan novel then Hitchcock did, the play of The 39 Steps sticks close to the film and throws in references to other Hitchcock films as well.  Written by Patrick Barlow, the play first premiered in the UK in 2005, followed by a three year run in New York.  The UK production even won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy.  The production at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ runs through this coming Sunday, May 20th.

Stacie Morgan Lewis and Howard
McGillin getting ready to "check in" at
the Bates Motel.

The plot of the film, play and novel centers on a man falsely accused of a murder and what he does to prove his innocence as he flees across the English countryside.  This theme would be one that Hitchcock revisited many times over his illustrious career such as in North by Northwest and Saboteur.  It is also a theme that many other books, plays and movies have focused on.

John Hannay is a single man who after a night out at the music hall finds himself taking home a frightened woman after shots are fired at the theatre.  He later learns that she is a spy and the one who fired the shots as she is being followed by assassins who know that she has uncovered a plot where others are planning to smuggle British military secrets out of the country.  The man overseeing this plot runs an espionage organization called "the 39 steps." 

The woman spends the night at his flat, and the next morning, when Hannay finds her stabbed and dying, she gives him a few last details as to how he can help her stop the secrets from getting out of the country.   Hannay, on the run from the police who suspect him of the murder must stop the secrets from getting out as well as attempt to prove his innocence without getting killed by the assassins himself.


McGillin -it is amazing how a scarf with
a wire in it, a bicycle handle and some
lighting and music can come
together to portray a getaway
on a bicycle


Now while the details of the plot and all of the films based on the novel and original film are as serious as possible, the play is played for laughs and one of the ways it achieves this is to have all of the parts played by a cast of only four people.  And since the character of John Hannay is on stage for almost the entire time, it means that the three other actors must play all of the other 100 plus parts in the show.  The cast is so adept at playing multiple characters as well as so in sync with the split second costume changes that there were many times when I believed there where other actors off stage waiting to come on when all four of the actors were on stage.

Howard McGillin plays "Hannay" with the perfect touch of a proper English gentlemen (by way of Canada, no less) and he throws himself into the part.  I've seen McGillin in numerous Broadway musicals and I don't remember seeing him have so much fun in a part as in this one.  His performance did remind me somewhat of his role in the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood where he also played an Englishman. 

Stacie Morgan Lewis only has three parts to play, those of the three women Hannay comes in contact with, but she so brilliantly plays each one, that you really can't imagine it is the same actress playing all three parts.  The accents alone, especially the one she uses for Annabella Schmidt, the German woman whom Hannay is accused of killing, are not only legitimate accents but also hilarious ones as well.

Every other part in the play is played by Mark Price and Michael Thomas Holmes and they are both amazing in their abilities to play so many different roles, some of them within seconds of each other.  The use of various wigs, mustaches and hats partnered with Price's and Holmes' rubber like features and skills at accents is a theatrical delight as well as pure insanity at many times.

Mark Price and Michael Thomas Holmes

Also, every chase scene and escape from the film, including ones on trains and in cars takes place on stage using a combination of theatrical magic and only a few set pieces.  It is amazing how a few trunks and some lighting can come together with your imagination to portray a chase on top of a train.  We saw the play on Broadway and enjoyed that and seeing another production of this play reminds me again how simple things can come together to provide theatrical magic.  It reminded me a lot of the current Broadway play Peter and the Starcatchers that also uses a small cast to play many parts and minimal sets to portray various locations.
The play includes references to other Hitchcock films and also uses music from his films as well.  The music works perfectly as a theatrical score for the action on the stage.  There is even a cameo by Hitchcock himself.

Mark Shanahan, who was an understudy in the Broadway production directs the George Street production.  He has also directed other productions of the play before and while he sticks close to what worked brilliantly on Broadway he appears to throw in a few of his own comical bits as well.  The play does get a little tired toward the end, but is still a fun treat for fans of theatrical imagination, spoofs and comedies. 

The play of The 39 Steps is a homage to the master of suspense himself, and any fan of Hitchcock, suspense, comedy and the theatre is bound to have a good time.

Official George Street Playhouse Website

theatre review ARE YOU THERE, MCPHEE?, McCarter Theatre, May 18

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The McCarter theatre is ending its season with the world premiere of a new play by John Guare, Are You There McPhee?  Best known for writing The House of Blue Leaves and Six Degrees of Separation, Guare has delivered an overstuffed play of crazy proportions that while never boring unfortunately is too long, unfocused and gets lost along the way. 

McPhee is crazy and wacky with too many strange subplots to mention.   With a strange sense of "what will happen next?" the play centers on a playwright, Edmund Gowery, telling the story of what happened to him in 1975 when he took the money he made from his one hit play and invested it in a rental house in Nantucket, though he had actually never visited that island before.  The house was formerly owned by the daughter of a famous children's book author, and children or more so the theme of "lost children," factor importantly into the play. 

Paul Gross and John Behlmann

When the tenants who are renting the Nantucket apartment are accused of running a mail order child pornography ring, Gowery must go to Nantucket to prove he had no knowledge of what was happening in his house. There he finds that everyone he encounters played a part in a production of his one hit play that he was invited to attend but declined to do so.  Many of these individuals hold it against him that he didn't see their production which they claim many say was better than the original .  While every one of these Nantucket residents are somewhat crazy characters the wackiest are McPhee, a love struck man with a giant lobster in a cooler who sends Gowery to a house with the lobster to wait for McPhee's girlfriend, and Peter and Wendy (that lost children theme again) who Gowery finds in the house he is sent to and who are watching two children there who's parents are away.  The parents of those two kids include the children's book author's daughter that Gowery bought the house from and who are off in California hoping to sell the rights of the children's books to Walt Disney.  Gowery soon finds himself watching the two kids when Peter and Wendy disappear.  With the many plot points and characters in constant motion, Gowery and the audience is continually trying to figure out what is happening around him, what will happen next and how this will all come together. 

Add to the mix that this is the summer of Jaws, which plays endlessly at the movie theatre in town and Gowery finds everyone he encounters is reading the book the movie was based on.  Also, Gowery has been asked to write the screenplay for a remake of Hitchcock's Suspicion, a film whose plot centers on whether or not a husband is out to kill his wife which is a theme also mirrored in McPhee. The remake is to be directed by Roman Polanski and star Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.  Everything that he encounters in Nantucket makes him question if he can use it in either a way to have the Fonda and Redford characters meet each other or if he can incorporate it into a future play. 

Gross and the craziness around him,
puppets included.

Like I said above, a lot is jammed into the plot of this play and it mostly resembles a nightmare of crazy and I've only mentioned about 1/2 of the various plot elements.  Oh, did I mention there are also several puppets in the production as well?

Now Guare did visit Nantucket in 1975 and marry a girl he met there and he has declined seeing productions of his play including one a few years back at Princeton.  He has also written the screenplay for Atlantic City which earned him an Oscar nomination.  So one wonders how much if any of McPhee is autobiographical. 

Paul Gross who hardly ever leaves the stage is delivering a fascinating and solid performance as Gowery.  He is smartly dressed, looks great and provides a grounded center for the lunacy that happens around him. John Behlmann as McPhee plays an almost mirror image of Gowery with his shaggy dog look including his scraggly beard and cut off jeans. He is a man crazy in love and prepared to let nothing get in his way. The rest of the cast achieves the appropriate level of zaniness to make the play never seem outright silly or pretentious, which is a rare feet with everything that happens in this play. 

McPhee is a roller coaster of a play and director Sam Buntrock delivers expertly in his direction of ensuring the cast is always achieving the sense of heightened zaniness the play requires.  I also appreciated the sense of surrealism in the play especially in the sets by David Farley that are extremely inspired, especially the Magritte themed room in the Nantucket home Gowery bought. 

While there are a few moments of inspired madness especially in the scenes between McPhee and Gowery, at over 2 1/2 hours the play runs a little long and doesn't exactly find a way for the many themes of the show and multiple plots to come together into a message or meaning.  I'm not sure if this is simply a play by an established playwright that needs considerable trimming and a better focus and McCarter was blinded by the fact that it was a new world premiere of a play by John Guare or if I simply missed the point Guare was trying to make.   I did like the crazy plot and characters and I'm hoping that with some editing as well as a more refined ending that better wraps everything up that McPhee will find its way in a future production of the play.

Are You There, McPhee? runs through Juned 3rd.

Official McCarter Theatre Site

A brief preview of this production -

THE SKED FALL TRAILER REVIEW: ABC's "666 Park Avenue"

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666 PARK AVENUE:  Sunday 10PM on ABC
WHAT IT'S SAYING:  The Devil's Advocate, Rosemary's Baby and The Shining in a stunning NY apartment, and fielding an all-star team of ABC veterans (Terry O'Quinn, Vanessa Williams, Dave Annable, Rachael Taylor).  
WHAT IT'S REALLY SAYING:  The world can only handle one American Horror Story, so the show needs to calm down and make some sense.  No trace of humor, which this genre (True Blood, Vampire Diaries) can really use.  And is "From the Producers of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars" supposed to be a good thing?  But no one does enigmatic menace like Terry O'Quinn (unless it's Michael Emerson).  The pilot, at least, looks like it has plenty of spooky scares.  And it's sure going to be different from The Mentalist, its only scripted competition in the hour.
GRADE:  B+

Stay with SHOWBUZZDAILY Next Week for EXCLUSIVE FALL RATINGS PREDICTIONS! 
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THE SKED: CW FALL SCHEDULE & INSTANT ANALYSIS

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CW needed to rip up its schedule and start over, and it mostly has.



Let's take a look night-by-night.
MONDAY:  The network is reuniting two of its cornerstone soaps for the Fall, with 90210 as the lead-in for the final 11-episode season of GOSSIP GIRL.  Since CW isn't planning to begin its Fall season until October, that will take Mondays through the end of the year, and then in January 2013, 90210 remains in place to launch what the network hopes will be its new generation of signature soap, the Sex and the City prequel THE CARRIE DIARIES.  This makes sense, because the 90210 and Gossip Girl audience (what's left of it) should be the crowd for Carrie.

TUESDAY:  An evening of medical soaps, with the moderately successful HART OF DIXIE changing nights to launch the new EMILY OWENS MD.  Again, Hart won't carry along a huge viewership as lead-in, but the shows are logical together.
WEDNESDAY:  CW must have confidence in ARROW, their new superhero action series, since they're having it open the night.  It's compatible with SUPERNATURAL, one of the network's stronger shows, which is moving from Friday to be its companion.
THURSDAY:  The network's rebooted BEAUTY AND THE BEAST gets the closest CW has to a plum spot, after its one hit THE VAMPIRE DIARIES.   Both are romantic supernatural fantasies, so again there's a genre connection.
FRIDAY:  The network's night of misfit toys:  AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL is being moved because its sinking ratings no longer justified a Wednesday berth, and NIKITA is probably still on the air because its international sales value balanced out low US numbers.
Apart from the debut of Carrie Diaries, CW will launch the thriller CULT on an unspecified midseason date.

Related Posts: 90210,Arrow,beauty beast,Carrie Diaries,CW,Emily Owens,fall schedule,gossip,Hart of Dixie,next top model,nikita,supernatural,The Sked,vampire diaries