Daily Blague

Ben Brantley didn't like it, but we thought it was great: Elaine May's After the Night and the Music. So did the rest of the audience, apparently. Perhaps it's generational. The title refers, I think, to the aftermath of the famous song, "You and the Night and the Music." What happens when all the goodies promised by Howard Dietz's lyrics have been worn out, washed out, or smashed up? This is not, perhaps, a show for younger audiences - and, of course, it didn't have one last night. After the Night and the Music is directed by Daniel Sullivan, with sets by John Lee Beatty, costumes by Michael Krass, and lighting by Peter Kaczorowski. It's produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club, at MTC's Biltmore Theatre on West 47th Street, the dandiest house on Broadway.

There were moments here and there that I might have snipped, but they never bogged down and were forgotten at once (except for the purpose of writing this page). Great cast, great production, great choreography. (I'll get to that.) To Mr Brantley, After the Night and the Music was no more than an assemblage of skits. While I see his point, I don't take it. Billed as "Three New Plays in Two Acts," After the Night and the Music is actually a one-act play preceded by a curtain raiser, a quartet of interlaced monologues, and an intermission. The curtain raiser might be considered a skit if it were merely funny or satirical, but in fact it's about generosity rewarded.

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