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Updated: 10/05/11 JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNbwTYq8_lk What The Press Are Saying About the Los Angeles Premiere of JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN - “You won’t have to walk a million miles for one of his smiles, when you experience Mike Burstyn as he brings Al Jolson back to life in this musical extravaganza. Burstyn runs the gamut of emotions as he serenades the audience with hits such as ‘Swanee,’ ‘Rock A Bye Your Baby,’ and many others you may have forgotten. A must see! – Steve Zall, Hollywood Weekly Magazine - “Wow! It’s Jolson at the Winter Garden reprised by master song and dance man Mike Burstyn, and it’s going to take major control to keep from singing along! He’s terrific, and so it the show. But you’ve got to hurry; it’s only running for three weeks. To see why I loved it, please go to www.cynthiacitron.com.” – Cynthia Citron, www.cynthiacitron.com ***
Jolson at the Winter Garden
is about as close as you can get to the man who really was the Entertainer of
the Century, bigger than Michael Jackson, and considerably less self
destructive. Mike Burstyn in Al Jolson in the play, which gives you Jolson up
close and personal at one of the many Sunday nights when he played the Winter
Garden in New York., doing his own show, singing and bantering with the audience
as only Jolson could. It's at the El Portal in the center of NoHo (North
Hollywood for those not quite so hip) through this weekend and well worth a trip
just to see what star power was before the electronic media made everyone a
star. John Farrell, Special to Random Lengths News *** BEVERLY HILLS COURIER | SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 STAGE/SCREEN, Jerry Cutler .....And speaking of Jolson..... Jolson At the Winter Garden is a pleasant presentation with one great star–Mike Burstyn. From beginning to the very end of the show, it is Burstyn whose singing and limited hoofing bring Jolson to life. If you yearn to hear Jolie sing again, and who doesn’t, you’ll be enthralled with this brilliant, captivating entertainer’s delivery of standards like Swanee, Toot Toot Tootsie, Sonny Boy, Mammy and a host of other classics. The direction, staging, dialogue are overshadowed by Burstyn’s energetic performance. Close your eyes and darn if Jolie isn't in front of you singing his heart out and saying, “You ain't heard nothin’ yet.” At the opening show, Burstyn received a long and well deserved standing ovation. I am sure that scene will be played over and over again in the ensuing weeks at the El Portal Theatre in NoHo. *** "Burstyn has nailed Jolson’s strong baritone with that slightly raspy timbre so well that you can close your eyes and wonder whether Jolson has indeed returned from the grave for one night." The premiere of Jolson at the Winter Garden at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre Thursday was exactly what you’d expect: a well-produced songbook revue jammed with familiar crowd-pleasing tunes and featuring a bravura turn by Mike Burstyn as the self-styled world’s greatest entertainer. Nearly two dozen songs in 90 minutes covered every Jolson standard from Swanee to My Mammy to Rockabye Your Baby to Sonny Boy to…well, you get the idea. But Burstyn and company delivered these sentimental warhorses with absolute respect and not a trace of irony. Given such a loving treatment, the melodious tunes and the heartfelt lyrics didn’t sound corny, simply sincere. It’s material that targeted the Maltz’s core audience of older patrons so precisely that many sang along with some standards without being asked, transported across space and time. But when Burstyn did come out into the audience to enlist its aid in singing Nothing Could Be Finer Than to Be In Carolina in the Morning, not only did no one have to be prodded, the whole house knew every word of the chorus. Jolson, for those too young to know, was the preeminent American entertainer in the first half of the 20th century. Starting in vaudeville and minstrel shows, his popularity reached levels previously unknown in popular culture. When he turned to film, it was his voice in The Jazz Singer that uttered the first words heard in movie theaters. But this is a revue, not a bio-musical, so even though a trio of backup singers pepper the audience with factoids describing Jolson’s accomplishments (“Al, you were the first person to earn $10,000 a week before World War I”), it simply gives a flavor of his importance and we never see past the entertainer’s façade to the difficult human being who was both adored and despised offstage. As a result, most audience members under 60 may admire this work, even be surprised by how sturdy these songs are when properly presented. But they won’t be moved or enthralled as will seniors who bring a storehouse of memories to the evening and for whom only biographical shorthand is necessary. The script was written by Burstyn and director/choreographer Bill Castellino in preparation for a national tour. Castellino and musical director Christopher McGovern are co-creators of Florida Stage’s musicals Cagney, Backwards in High Heels and Dr. Radio. When the real Jolson grew bored with paper-thin book shows, he reputedly abandoned them in mid-performance and asked the audience if they wouldn’t rather he just sing his hits. Which they did. And he did. And this does. The backup singers (Laura Hodos, Wayne LeGette and Jacqueline Bayne) get a few solos to allow Burstyn a breather. But the show belongs to Burstyn. Burstyn, who has played Jolson in another musical has Jolson’s prizefighter energy, the endearing pugnacious persona, the showbiz pizzazz and, above all, that voice. Burstyn has nailed Jolson’s strong baritone with that slightly raspy timbre so well that you can close your eyes and wonder whether Jolson has indeed returned from the grave for one night. Jolson tells the audience that he was basically a salesman and Burstyn, indeed, sells these songs with an assured skill, fists pumping the air, arms outstretched with palms upward. The Maltz has invested its customary care in producing the work with serviceable, but attractive sets; nimble lighting and a solid eight-piece combo perched on a bandstand, led by McGovern. Still, Jolson at the Winter Garden gives the audience a chance to watch two men do what they love to do – Jolson and Burstyn – and that enthusiasm is infectious. Jolson at the Winter Garden plays through Mar. 13 at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 E. Indiantown Road in Jupiter. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $43-$60, available by calling (561) 575-2223 or jupitertheatre.org. VIDEO OF JOLSON AT THE WINTER GARDEN: ***
Move over, Iron Man. Step aside, Robin Hood. A new hero has come to town: Hershele. Hershele Ostropolyer, brought to mischievous life by Mike Burstyn.
Lawrence Van Gelder,
The ebullient Mike Burstyn,
a
veteran of both Broadway and Yiddish theater ("Barnum," "On Second Avenue"),
plays Hershele, a vagabond who sets out to right wrongs despite his own
impoverished circumstances. The best news of all is that it stars Mike Burstyn. Burstyn, with his long Yiddish theater history and pedigree as the son of Yiddish stars Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux, has vaudevillian style comedy and physical movements down pat and is thoroughly endearing on stage.
The big name in the show is Mike Burstyn, who plays the lovable rascal with great zest and a fine sense of Yiddish irony. But if Burstyn brings in the audience, he also lifts up the show. He sings, dances and dispenses a great deal of Yiddish wisdom and humor. CurtainUp, By Paulanne Simmons The Broadway-tested Burstyn highlights the Yiddish humor with his quick steps and tongue-in-cheek delivery. Backstage, by Gwen Orel
Hershele is played by the always
masterful Mike Burstyn.
Hershele, brought to life by Mike Burstyn with his usual canny charm. New Jersey Jewish Standard, Theater This little gem of a musical is made to order for its star Mike Burstyn. A perfect fit, as they once said in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Burstyn (playing a roving penniless character who lives by his wits) sings, dances, and performs his way into our hearts.
Irene Backalenick,
http://simply-showbiz.com/blog/ : He’s the mensch: Mike Burstyn and the quest to keep Yiddish aliveWhen entertainers say they have “international careers,” it often means they’ve made one or two excursions away from their home turf. In the case of Mike Burstyn, though, the claim verges on understatement. Burstyn, who was born Mike Burstein in New York City in 1945, is fluent in eight languages and is currently learning a ninth (Russian). The singer/actor has performed in French in France, in Spanish in South America, and in Hebrew in Israel. In the 1970s he hosted a variety program in Holland where he spoke Dutch. His English-language roles include the title character in Broadway ‘s musical Barnum(replacing Jim Dale, who originated the role). The language that Burstyn is perhaps most passionate about is one that’s been on the endangered-idiom list in recent decades: Yiddish. As a child, he and his twin sister Susan (a self-taught ventriloquist) toured with their parents, Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux, who were famous performers in the international Yiddish theatre. (The story of the Burstein family is told—fascinatingly—in the award-winning 2000 Israeli documentary The Komediant.)
Currently, Burstyn is performing in Yiddish in New York City at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. He plays the title character in The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer. The musical, based on a three-act play by Moyshe Gershenson, centers on a quick-witted “Jewish Robin Hood” character who comes to the aid of villagers suffering under the tyranny of the town miser, Reb Kalmen. The legendary trickster Hershele Ostropolyer was reputedly inspired by a real-life historical figure.  The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer The musical—billed as “a Comic Tale Full of Song, Wit and Meshugene Antics”— had a successful engagement at the Folksbiene in 2010, so this is an encore run. Burstyn was not familiar with the original Gershenson play when director/choreographer/adapter Eleanor Reissa approached him about playing Hershele last year. But that didn’t hold him back.
Although the play was new to him, Burstyn did have a tie to the main character. He won a Kinor David award—the Israeli equivalent of the Oscar—for playing the title role in a film called Hershele in 1977. The protagonist of that film, a Russian immigrant to Israel, claimed to be a descendant of the cunning folk hero. Some audience members at the Folksbiene (mainly the older ones) understand every spoken word and lyric in The Adventures of Hershele. But for those who don’t, the theatre projects English (and Russian) titles on panels above the stage. The super-titles help Burstyn and company size up the composition of the audience. “That’s the litmus test, right at the beginning,” he says. “If we hear people laughing when we get to the end of the sentence, then they’re reacting to the Yiddish itself. If there’s a slight delay, then obviously they’re reading the translation.” Burstyn notes that many of his fellow Adventures of Hershele performers are not fluent in the language. “Actors—that’s what we do. When opera singers have to learn a new libretto in French or German or Italian, most of them are not from that background. They learn it. And you need a good ear. It’s one of the things you have to develop. The same thing here: [The cast members] are speaking Yiddish beautifully. And we’ve helped them.” Interest in Yiddish as a spoken language has grown in recent years, says Burstyn. In part that’s been due to the popularity of klezmer music (as klezmer musicians come from a Yiddish-speaking tradition). But much of the Yiddish renaissance in the U.S. has been prompted by a desire among younger Jewish Americans to discover their roots. A similar Yiddish revival has taken place in Israel, a country that was fairly unwelcoming of the language after Hebrew was selected as the national tongue. Now, with Israeli baby boomers harboring nostalgic longings for the voices of Yiddish-fluent parents and grandparents, the language is making a comeback there too. “[The boomers] are in their sixties now, and they’re coming to listen to it as a way of regaining their childhood memories,” Burstyn explains. At 65, he still works a lot, but Burstyn says it’s impossible for him to nourish all facets of his worldwide career equally. Like most any actor, he needs to go wherever the jobs are. However, he tries to make a trek to Israel at least once a year—for film, concert, or theatre work. Last year he traveled there three times, participating in a series of well-received Yiddish-language concerts. He would like to take The Adventures of Hershele to Israel as well. He feels confident that there would now be an audience for it. Before he gets a chance to do that, however, Burstyn will head to Los Angeles this September to play the lead in Jolson at the Winter Garden!, a new show about entertainer Al Jolson that he and director Bill Castellino developed. The show had its initial tryout in Florida earlier this year. Burstyn’s dream would be to bring the show to New York eventually. Burstyn previously played “Jolie” a few years ago, in Jolson: The Musical. That production didn’t make it to Manhattan, Burstyn notes, largely because of the politically touchy issue of blackface performance—something Jolson was famous for. (The John Kander/Fred Ebb minstrel-show-related musical The Scottsboro Boys shuttered quickly on Broadway earlier this season in part because of controversies involving similar racially sensitive themes.) With the new show, Burstyn does not anticipate such difficulties. “Jolson didn’t perform in blackface in these [1920s] concerts at the Winter Garden [Theatre in New York]. He performed as Al Jolson. So I don’t think that is going to bother us if we bring it to New York.” Jolson is just one of many real-life characters Burstyn has portrayed during his career. Others include showmen P.T. Barnum and Mike Todd, gangster Meyer Lansky, international banker Mayer Rothschild, and controversial attorney Roy Cohn. Is there any other historical figure he would like to play? Burstyn can’t think of anyone, but he would enjoy trying his hand at Charles Dickens’ villain Fagin from Oliver Twist (and the musical adaptation, Oliver!). And what about performing in his own life story, perhaps in a stage version of the Komediantdocumentary? Burstyn wouldn’t rule it out. He does know for sure that he wants eventually to write a book about his life. In the meantime, there is that unceasing devotion to preserving the Yiddish performance tradition: “I was lucky, because I was born into it…” he says. “I caught the last Golden Age of the Yiddish theatre, and I experienced it personally. And so I kind of feel I have an obligation to be that link in the chain between the past Yiddish theatre and today’s audiences.” For information on tickets for The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer, visit www.folksbiene.org. You can learn more about Mike Burstyn and his career at www.mikeburstyn.com
“The Adventures of Hershele Ostropolyer” initiated a limited run (until June 26) at the Folksbiene Theater, Baruch College on Manhattan’s East Side. Go! Go! Go! It will transport you into a charming world where all can be solved by a bit of seychel, a bit of mazel, and, of course, a bit of love. That’s what Yiddish theater is all about, isn’t it? Hershele Ostropolyer is a would-be Robin Hood. Mike Burstyn is Hershele. The plot, while wonderfully simple and obvious, keeps the viewer’s attention with just enough twists and turns through its iterative steps. It’s an “if only, what if?” experience in the possible (if not the probable) that is well worth seeing. Hershele is challenged to help young love succeed and has only his wits on which to rely. His defeat – and reformation – of the town miser, Reb Kalmen, is a quick moving, quick witted game well worth playing. The evening on which this viewer saw the show, Burstyn was recovering from a leg injury, and, trooper that he is, managed to jump and bounce through the dancing – albeit, with a little help from his friends. The songs and limited dialogue, performed entirely in Yiddish, are translated into easily readable English and Russian supertitles, thus eliminating any language barrier for the non Yiddish speaking viewer. Based on the classic Yiddish play by Moyshe Gershenson, the show has an original score featuring nicely above average Yiddish theatre and folk songs compiled by the Yiddish musicologist Chana Mlotek. Zalmen Mlotek, Ms. Mloteks’s son, is the show’s music director, and is responsible for the arrangements. Hershele is indeed an adventure – one well worth joining. *** "Lansky" New York
"A Notorious Wiseguy Wants to Win You Over."
In the one-man show "Lansky," a subtly monstrous performance by Mike Burstyn brings Meyer Lansky to chilling life. Associated Press "Lansky" L.A. "This play is not only watchable, but riveting in the hands of the tour-de-force that is Mike Burstyn. Burstyn doesn’t just rise above the material, he floats above it. While the writers clearly went to great pains to excise anything that might reveal Lansky’s dark underbelly, Burstyn shows no fear in taking the script and imbuing it with moments of sheer evil, providing a brief glimpse into the “real” Lansky. Watch closely as he forces a pastrami sandwich on an unsuspecting audience member, or when he takes on Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, long distance on a pay phone. It’s bone chilling. Burstyn has such command of the tiny stage that he constantly dares you to avert your eyes from him. At 62, he has extraordinary control over his instrument – body and voice, and it’s worth seeing this production just to see what a true master of the acting craft can achieve, alone, on an intimate stage with a minimal set. Go see this play for Burstyn’s nuanced, layered, three-dimensional performance. You won’t be disappointed, and what Burstyn does in the last 90 seconds of the play will stay with you for a long, long, time." Kelly Hartog, Beverly Hills Courier “A true master of the acting craft…the tour-de-force that is Mike Burstyn” Beverly Hills Courier “A superb storyteller and mimic.” Variety “Burstyn makes the aging gangster smilingly gregarious.” L.A. Times “A gripping one-man show.” Jewish Journal “Burstyn’s characterization presents a model of self-referential rectitude.” Backstage "An actor who can bring off a charismatic, schmoozing big shot." Daily News *** On Second Avenue
"...let me reiterate here that the inimitable Mike Burstyn is as fine an actor as he is an ebullient song-and-dance man and well deserving of his international acclaim."
* Showbiz vet Mike Burstyn, whose parents, Lillian Lux and Pesach'ke Burstein, were stars of the Yiddish stage, spearheads the proceedings with the finesse of someone who was born in a trunk and has spent the bulk of his life on stage...Burstyn shines in the sublimely silly "Hootsatsa," dancing, singing and firing off fast-patter jokes of a hilariously awful stripe. F. Kathleen Foley L.A. Times * Mike Burstyn, shines all that much brighter in his solo moments, radiating affability like a cheery fireplace on a cold night...
NEIL GENZLINGER NY Times *
* Mike Burstyn, stars in "On Second Avenue." Burstyn, who has starred on Broadway in "Barnum" and "Ain't Broadway Grand?", brings real pizazz to bear on the material. Howard Kissel, NY Daily News * Mike Burstyn, who starred in such musicals as Barnum and Ain't Broadway Grand (on Broadway) and Jolson (on the road), certainly understands the tradition. His parents, the late Pesach'ke Burstein and Lillian Lux, were great stars of the Yiddish theater, in which he got his start as a child. He scores with the audience, whether breezily singing old-time ditties or offering, in brisk succession with deft timing, ancient jokes that still work surprisingly well. You keep hoping he'll tell one more--and he does.
Chip Deffaa * With his innate ability to hold an audience in the palm of his hand, Mike Burstyn could be a star in any language. He could sing a song in Sanskrit and still bring people to tears. He could crack a joke in total gibberish and still nail the punch line. Burstyn possesses the perfect blend of mensch-next-door familiarity and larger-than-life charisma to charm any audience, and he serves up the right combination of humor and pathos to sell any musical number. Whether he's hamming it up in "Rumania, Rumania" or dishing out mother-in-law jokes with vaudevillian flair, the audience can't help but laugh, clap and sing along. Wayne Hoffman, Forward *** "Mike Burstyn, Broadway's charmer from Tony Award show 'Barnum' made the audience go wild...we need more Tony Orlandoes, Sal Richardes, Scott Recordes & Mike Burstynes." Mr. Blackwell, The Tolucan Times ***
*** "Miklat" at Florida Stage 10/22/04
‘Miklat’ takes a comedic look at God, country and War Joshua Ford’s Miklat is a comedy about faith. More than that, it’s a comedy about faith set in the midst of war. BY CHARLES PASSY "Of course, it helps to have a cast that knows how to find a balance between the comic and the serious – and Florida Stage has done that. It’s Mike Burstyn’s natural, warmhearted turn as Howard that is the show’s most affecting performance. He could play the role just for its Neil Simon-esque laughs and get by, but he’s willing to add a layer of paternal wisdom that frames the production beautifully."
"As Howard, Mike Burstyn offers an assured performance, equally at home with the rat-a-tat jokes and the emotional nuances." Ronald Mangravite, Miami Newtimes "Mike Burstyn plays the wounded father with convincing bluster and bewilderment." Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News *** "The event hit pure gold with multitalented Mike Burstyn, who dazzled everyone with his brilliant, one-man show. A master showman with a resonant voice and mesmerizing personality, Burstyn's non-stop performance of Yiddish and Hebrew songs and Broadway show tunes, interspersed with hilarious impersonations and meizes (tales), was phenomenal. From his opener of Bashana Ha-ba'ah, to his endition of "My Yiddishe Mame", to his finale of "Hallelujah" and his operatic encore of "Shvigaro"...Burstyn made us laugh, made us sing...and reminded us to be feeling, caring and generous Jews." Cleveland Jewish News, June 20, 2003 ***
"Mike Burstyn is a master of understatement. Boy, does he make playing the straight man to a trio of comic women look easy. Burstyn's Ira is likable and loveable. Even as we wonder how someone that successful could also be that naive, we just want to hug him." Maryann Robertson, features@seacostonline.com "Mike Burstyn is a pip...he will make you laugh before he speaks a line, and once he starts talking, there's no end to the laughter. The chemistry of the entire cast is affected by his lively comic presence. Now the fabulously successful allergist moves about the set as if it were his home. We see how comfortable he is with his wife and she with him. He matter-of-factly throws caring glances toward Marjorie even as he pats his egocentric, do-gooder back. His comic timing is so in sinc with the other actors that this comedy is now seemless." Joanne Greco Rochman, Stage Struck, New Haven "Mike Burstyn is delightfully eccentric as the husband." Steve Allen, KFUO-FM St.Louis "Mike Burstyn is warm and very funny as Marjorie's long-suffering husband." Chuck Lavazzi, KDHX-FM St.Louis "As Ira, Marjorie's genial doctor-husband, Mike Burstyn conveys a casual narcissism." Michael Grossberg, The Columbus Dispatch "Burstyn and Harper share a good sense of comic timing." J.Wynn Rousuck, The Baltimore Sun "To create Ira, Mike Burstyn works precisely, an upright, soothing presence, making Ira good but not too good to be true." Richard Eisenhardt, Chicago Street Wise "Ira is a retired allergist who suffers from high self-esteem, but in Burstyn's smooth reading, he is at heart a decent and generous man." Desmond Ryan, The Philadelphia Inquirer *** THEATRE REVIEWS LIMITED 1/13/00 "LYRICS & LYRICISTS" THE SONGS OF CY COLEMAN, At the 92nd Street "Y" "Mike Burstyn is a favorite. For Heaven's sakes, somebody, somewhere, just create a show for this wonderful charismatic song and dance man to keep him here; he settled in Israel with his family in 1962, where they give him awards regularly in wise recognition of his talents. He doesn't just sing a song (as the others did, earnestly and with lots of spunk); he caresses it and sends it out to play." Carolyn Albert, Theatre Reviews Limited *** RAVE REVIEWS FOR MIKE BURSTYN IN
L.A TIMES 10/28/99 "Burstyn is the whole show...Mike Burstyn's Jolson is very good. Especially when singing, Burstyn suggests something of Jolson's sociopathic intensity. He sounds eerily like Jolson on up-tempo rousers ('Toot, Toot, Tootsie!') as well as on April showers of sentimentality ('My Mammy')...'Jolson' comes to life only when Burstyn gets in touch with his inner Jolie, flashes that beacon of enamel and goes in for the kill." Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 10/28/99 "Fortunately for this national touring production making a short stop in Pasadena, Mike Burstyn has the Jolson voice and persona down pat. Although physically no Jolson clone - more flesh, lots more hair - when he sings, Burstyn captures that essential Jolson quality of convincing an audience that he's giving you all he's got, and then some. He also presents us with that unique Jolson blend of ego, brashness, unabashed sentimentality and the supreme confidence in his talent to make it all hang together...The show ends with a Radio City concert that allows Burstyn to pull out all the stops with 'Swanee,' 'Sonny Boy,' 'Around A Quarter To Nine' and 'Carolina In The Morning.' And, oh yes, 'My Mammy,' which remains a heartbreaker with a voice like Burstyn's behind it." Jay Reiner, The Hollywood Reporter "Mike Burstyn tackles the role with gusto and seems to enjoy the limelight every bit as much as the character he plays...he sounds uncannily like the real thing." Robert Trussell, The Kansas City Star "As played by Mike Burstyn in this lavish and intelligent musical, that brash bulldozer (Jolson) pushed aside everyone and everything on his way to the top. Compact, with a voice like a fire siren, Burstyn grabs your attention with his first, bellowing notes and holds your interest through to the finale." Joanne Milani, The Tampa Tribune "A musical play of substance demands a lead actor who can shoulder the weight, and Burstyn can...the performance Burstyn gives is highly professional. Although small in stature, Burstyn paints Jolson in broad strokes. His stride and speaking voice are big; the singing voice comes across as bigger still. He gives the Jolson voice a nasal quality without doing an imitation. Burstyn's characterization leaves room for detail. There's a lot that's reminiscent of old still photographs and film footage, including the frozen smile, wide eyes and fingers outstretched. Emotionally, Burstyn conveys that Jolson was driven to be the one out front yet was lonely for company." Whitney Smith, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis
"You have to say this for Mike Burstyn, the high-octane star of 'Jolson: The Musical' - the man knows how to hold a stage...an absolutely punishing workload for (Jolson's) eponymous star...Burstyn seems to have gone to great lengths to create an authentic evocation of the man often cited as the greatest entertainer this century has ever produced." Steve Metcalf, The Hartford Courant
"The reports of Al Jolson's demise have been greatly exaggerated. He lives in the cock-of-the-walk performance of Mike Burstyn in "Jolson"...The songs pour from Burstyn, who clearly knows Jolson's voice and temperament. Burstyn plays the crowd with all the confidence of the original and revels in his ability and his desire to perform. He conveys Jolson's brashness and self-absorption, but he also peels off the layers to reveal a tender and bruised heart. A wonderful performance." Paul Lamar, The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, N.Y.
"A fireball performer...Burstyn has all but cloned Jolson's distinctive baritone with it's back-of-the-throat resonance. Lots of impersonators have done this over the years, but few of them can sustain it, as Burstyn can, for almost three hours and more than a dozen solos." Perry Stewart, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
"It takes a star to play a star...Mike Burstyn radiates the kind of presence it takes to make Jolson's leading role believable. He also sings with power in an uncanny recreation of the idiosyncratic Jolson style, never making it sound like a trick." Lawson Taitte, The Dallas Morning News
"Burstyn inhabits his subject completely, from the vocal delivery - the downturned corners of the mouth, cut-through-everything nasal timbre, head-shaking vibrato - to the way he insinuates himself into the hearts of his audience. For one night, the Fox Theatre is Broadway's Wintergarden, circa 1920." Susan Elliott, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How I love ya! Above all, it's Burstyn in the
title role who makes this show a winner.
"Mike Burstyn is a commanding presence in the title role...he's got Jolson's most familiar mannerisms down cold, and his singing voice is a dead ringer." Dominic P. Papatola, Saint Paul Pioneer Press "Jolson was a high-octane guy and Mike Burstyn portrays him at full rev...Burstyn has Jolson's voice down pat." Mike Steele, Saint Paul Star Tribune "Mike Burstyn is the main reason to see this show. It doesn't happen very often that an actor walks down the isle of a theatre for his first entrance and gets thunderous applause long before he even opens his mouth to talk or sing. But word of mouth has been so great for Burstyn, everyone in the audience knew they were about to see someone special grace the Shubert stage. And they were right. This actor gives a superb performance as Al Jolson. SUPERB. Given Burstyn's years in the theatre (he started out as a kid in Yiddish theatre, working alongside his parents), plus his uncanny ability for getting an audience all lathered up, director Bill Castellino knew what he was doing when he cast this charismatic entertainer as Jolson. Mind you, not everyone could play this role. You need someone who can not only act and sing, but someone who is used to being out in front of an audience as a solo entertainer. That's what Jolson did best. He loved being out there alone, and Burstyn shares that connection with him. Though he's been starring in this musical since last October, Burstyn's affinity for the show hasn't diminished. Just watch him. He's so in touch with what he's doing, you never doubt for a moment that he is Al Jolson. He's got the look. He's got the moves. He's got the voice. He knows how to push an audience into overdrive. He's such a powerhouse, whenever he's not on stage, you count the minutes until he returns. Then there is the singing. In "Jolson" Burstyn sings 18 songs. His voice is rich, masterfully controlled and always full of surprise. Though you'd hardly call him a mimic, he sounds so much like Al Jolson, one would think he was lip-synching." James V. Ruocco, Waterbury Republican-American "Mike Burstyn without caricature not only captures his, (Jolson's), distinctive voice in over 25 songs, ranging from "Rock-A-Bye" to a heart-wrenching rendition of My Mammy," but projects Jolson's outgoing, pugnacious, generous, yet overbearing spirit, as if it were his own...I am sure Jolson would heartily approve of Mike Burstyn's memorable recreation in "Jolson" A Spectacular Musical." Rosalind Friedman, WMNR Radio "Tuesday night's opening of "Jolson" at the Shubert theatre in New Haven was a night of firsts. The first time this reviewer has ever seen such an interactive audience at the Shubert singing along with Jolson in the last 15 minutes of the show actually waiting to see what the next song was going to be...The first time I've ever heard gasps and murmurs of recognition as layers of the life of this man were revealed...The first time I've ever witnessed so convincing an imitation both physically and vocally of a character...Mike Burstyn in the title role breathes life into Al Jolson, billed as The World's Greatest Entertainer." Trish Torello, WATR Radio "Burstyn triumphs in an unusually demanding part - demanding because of it's sheer length and because of it's seemingly unending sequence of big solos and the extraordinary vocal attack and stamina they require. He captures and sustains Jolson's voice, and he has an apparently inexhaustible supply of high-octane energy." Dennis Cashman, New Haven Register "Burstyn performs with great energy throughout and is greeted by bursts of applause." Malcolm Johnson, The Hartford Courant :" A heroic, outsize performance. Even Burstyn's mouth and jaw burst with the man's preternatural energy...The glory of the evening is the songs. Thank Jolson and Burstyn for that." Chistopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette :"Burstyn finally has a role as suited to his skills as Broadway's "Barnum" was. Burstyn has not only Jolson's inflections but also the distinctive diamond-cutting adenoidal sound Jolson yielded when he sang. He hammers home numbers with fists and splayed fingers, and fittingly, like Jolson's, his mouth can barely keep up with his flailing arms. Burstyn suggests the niceness Jolson managed to project, especially in the climactic concert." Ed Blank, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review "Mike Burstyn is a magnificent performer! He's got that feral high energy Jolson had, the lips that start a musical phrase seductively and then snap suddenly into a manic smile as the eyes widen and the voice flattens out into the nasal bray of Mammy or California, Here I Come. His energy is so singular that there's no doubt at all he's portraying a man who held down the title of 'The World's Greatest Entertainer' for three decades." Ray Conlogue, The Globe & Mail, Toronto "Burstyn is terrific. Without a touch of makeup, the thick, downward curve of his mouth seems to conform to the shape of Jolson's, his eyes take on that slightly mad bug-eyed look, and his whole body evokes the smiling-crying, angry-child-in-a-grown-man's body that was the essence of Jolson's demeanor. When Burstyn sings-and you will be humming many of the show's nearly two dozen songs as you leave the theater-he conjures up the unique Jolson voice, as well. The rumbling vibrato is there, the sentimental street-fighter with the tough-guy sound, the Jewish minstrel with the mama's boy mentality...Jolson's exaggerated style comes through, without ever being overly caricatured. Watching the gifted actor, Mike Burstyn up there on stage I often found myself wishing that everything else around him would disappear and that he could just be left alone to do what he does with such uncanny verisimilitude and confidence." Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times "When Mike Burstyn takes the stage, it’s easy to believe Al Jolson has returned from the hereafter. Bold, brash, and bigger than life…the ‘World’s Greatest Entertainer’ again holds an audience captivated by sheer power of personality." John Morgan, Detroit Free Press "Since Mike Burstyn persuades us that he really is Jolson, we can discover the magic this great entertainer must have had. Burstyn woos all of us seated in the Allen, taking us into his confidence, getting us to sing along on ‘Carolina in the Morning,’ and giving us song after song in Jolson’s trademark nasal buzz, a cross between a French horn and a kazoo…The show is held together by Burstyn’s charismatic personality." Marianne Evett, Cleveland Plain Dealer "An exceptionally well-crafted performance from the very capable star Mike Burstyn, (who sounds uncannily like the real Asa Yoelson). The raspy and laudably unsentimental Burstyn is splendid in the closing concert sequence (and also in the earlier onstage numbers)." Chris Jones, Variety "Actor Mike Burstyn takes on the bravura role of the ‘Jazz Singer’ and he is dazzling. Burstyn has perfected Jolson’s voice, mannerisms and charisma. Like Jolson…he just needs to connect with his audience. And once he does, he never lets go." Christine McBurney, In Theatre "Before you can say ‘Toot Toot Tootsie,’ Burstyn has stolen the show…in his uncanny, go-for-broke replication of Jolson’s uniquely nasal singing…in his recklessly uninhibited rendering of the star’s arrogance and ego. The Al Jolson of Burstyn’s creation is a walking, talking, breathing ego; even his acts of generosity are grand performances. But there’s more to him than that: there’s an almost pathalogical need to please, a pathetic craving for love and approval that, coupled with a sentimental streak of preternatural proportions, made both his work and his life a total and unremitting revelation of self. Burstyn gets all this, too." Clifford A. Ridley, The Philadelphia Inquirer "Burstyn is Jolson, including his alter-ego’s famous whistling routine, and he carries the show to a triumphant foot-stomping, sing-along finale. It’s all there – the moon eyes, the swagger, the stance, the outstretched arms and the splayed hands – and, of course, Al Jolson’s inimitable voice, in Mike Burstyn’s portrayal of the legendary singer. The charismatic Burstyn dominates the show. He easily seduces listeners in this homage to ‘The World’s Greatest Entertainer.’" Fran Heller, Cleveland Jewish News "Mike Burstyn has Al Jolson down pat. If you know about Al Jolson and his marvelous singing style and you plan to attend ‘Jolson: The Musical’, you’ll likely find yourself closing your eyes while Mike Burstyn is singing. Is it the imagination, or does Burstyn have the Jolson style down cold; the wonderful resonance of the middle range; the full vowel diction that seems to come from the back of the throat, the effortless rhythmic roll of those words? No imagination, Burstyn has all the great qualities of the Jolson delivery, plus the self-confident swagger. Burstyn takes command from his first number, ‘I’m Sitting on Top of the World’, and keeps things lively all through the familiar Jolson repertoire, ‘Rock-a-Bye Your Baby,’ ‘Toot-Toot-Tootsie,’ ‘Baby Face.’ One of the Jolson songs is ‘Let Me Sing and I’m Happy.’ Let Burstyn sing and the audience is too." Dave Nicolette, The Grand Rapids Press "The show succeeds because of Mike Burstyn. Mr. Burstyn envelops Al Jolson the singer, the pure entertainer. He alone makes you understand why Jolson and his songs were the rage for decades during the early part of this century. Those who are familiar with the voice and the songs, and who isn’t, would swear they are seeing and hearing the real Al Jolson. Mr. Burstyn is so convincing and so appealing you want him to sing all night. Maybe you won’t want to run out and buy old recordings of ‘Toot-Toot-Tootsie Goodbye’ but you can’t help but love it when Mike Burstyn does Al Jolson right before your eyes…the wonderful…the amazing Mike Burstyn." Herb Hammer, The Times, Cleveland "Burstyn has a lot of charisma as Jolson!" Terry Byrne, Boston Herald "As played by Mike Burstyn, ‘Jolie’ comes across as an egocentric genius, a man with a voice and a manner that thrilled audiences, and he knew it. Burstyn has it down pat." Marion Garmel, The Indianapolis News "The new stage show is a musical memoir and as such works because of Mike Burstyn in the title role. He reaches deep within the character to reveal the frightened little boy that Jolson kept hidden beneath layers of brashness and bravado. Burstyn sounded like Jolson, but he wasn’t impersonating the legendary entertainer. He was recreating in his character’s own style the music Jolson made famous in the 1920s and ‘30s. Jolson was bigger than life in his heyday, the highest-paid performer on Broadway and an egocentric man not always liked by his colleagues. Burstyn conveys such a persona, playful and in charge in front of an audience, but mean, thoughtless, tender, frightened off stage." Russ Musarra, The Beacon Journal, Cleveland "It’s likely Jolson would be pleased with the way Mike Burstyn portrays him…(he) beautifully captures Jolson’s style and mannerisms. From the down-on-one-knee, poignant rendition of ‘My Mammy’ to the hands-up-fingers-spread gesture and vibrant skip step enlivening his 'Toot-Toot-Tootsie,’ Burstyn makes it happen. His voice has the same resonant, rugged quality of the legendary entertainer…Burstyn ably portrays his swagger and bravado backstage and gives a vivid picture of how the entertainer turned those traits into exhilarating performances on stage. In the last scene Burstyn bursts out with a grand finale that makes you appreciate just how terrific Jolson was…The show is a classy production, and Burstyn’s talents bring Jolson’s brilliance front and center." Debbie Forman, Cap Cod Times "Burstyn looks, acts, and sings like Jolson. The show’s strongest moments are when he prances onto the stage, stretches out his arms and starts to sing. With the talented, charismatic Mike Burstyn in the title role, you get the eerie feeling that the man considered by many to be ‘the world’s greatest entertainer’ is looking down and giving his blessing…the audience craves more Jolson tunes. With Burstyn performing, they could have done a solo show and the audience would have loved it. Jolson’s spirit fills the place…It’s great entertainment." Nancy Tuttle, Boston Sun "…the production boasts in Mike Burstyn a singer who sounds like Jolson and puts the performer’s songs across with a fine mix of emotion and showmanship—even the requisite knee slapping and eye rolling…these are great songs, and ‘Jolson’ is at its best when Burstyn is slamming them home." Carolyn Clay, The Boston Phoenix "’Jolson: The Musical’ is not a one-man show. But one man is the reason you might not want to miss it…make that one man and his performance of the music made famous by Al Jolson. With Mike Burstyn singing all of the Jolson standards, you can’t go wrong with this Jolson story…a journey through several decades of American popular music and what a satisfying tour it is. Especially since your guide is the multitalented Burstyn…what this gifted star of international musical theatre gives the audience is a performance, not an imitation. But if you’ve ever wanted the opportunity to see what a Jolson concert was like, ‘Jolson: The Musical’ gives you that chance…See Burstyn as Jolson and appreciate this amazing performance." Sharon Johnson, The Patriot-News "Mike Burstyn delivers an entertaining impersonation of Jolson and especially of his distinctive vocal style." J. Wynn Rousuck, Baltimore Sun *** "AIN'T BROADWAY GRAND" "Mike Todd is played with devious but irresistible charm by Mike Burstyn" Jacques Le Sourd, Gannet Newspapers, April 19, 1993 |
THEATER REVIEW
