The New York Times review of Skip's show Herringbone seems ot have come out; it's reviewed by Anita Gates - has one interesting-but-seemingly-fixable problem with the production, but overall very very good
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5D71638F932A1575AC0A96E9C8B63"ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | PRINCETON; Seeking Fortune and Finding Fame
By ANITA GATES
B. D. Wong could charm his way out of just about anything. That makes him perfectly suited for ''Herringbone,'' the unorthodox one-man musical in which he is starring, to glowing effect, at the McCarter Theater Center.
You can take ''Herringbone,'' which had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons Theater in 1982, one of two ways. It is either the straightforward story of a semitalented little boy possessed by the spirit of a vindictive dead dancer, or an allegory about the dangers of success.
The story begins in Depression-era Demopolis, Ala., a small town where the Nookin family, like many other Americans, are struggling financially. Rich Uncle Billy has died and left them -- bad luck -- only his car and a piece of written advice: ''Culture durin' hard times does real well.''
Sure enough, when they send their 8-year-old son, George, to nice Mr. Mosley for acting lessons, George turns out to have a remarkable talent for tap-dancing.
Perhaps this is because Mr. Mosley's old partner, Lou, who had the voice and attitudes of a tough borscht belt agent (''I was the best midget hoofer in the business''), has taken up residence in the boy's body. That will let him get back at that double-crossing Mosley, who caused his death.
Both Tom Cone's book and Ellen Fitzhugh's knowing lyrics have attitude too. There are songs about divine instructions for the family to go to Hollywood (''God said, 'Trust me, I got a hunch' ''), about George's father's hopes for a big inheritance (''You lived in style/ You rolled in clover/ You made a pile/ Now hand it over'') and suicide (''A leap to your death is effective/ But tends to be overcorrective''). Skip Kennon's music is traditionally musical-theaterish but slightly off-center.
Mr. Wong's singing voice isn't his strong suit, but it's likable. And he can dance up a storm. A Tony Award winner for ''M. Butterfly'' 20 years ago and a star of NBC's ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' since 2001, Mr. Wong plays 10 characters in ''Herringbone.'' He doesn't do this in the watch-me-transform style so popular in contemporary one-person shows; the performance is more like that of a particularly entertaining parent telling a bedtime story and casually giving each character a different voice.
He has done the show before, in a workshop production last summer at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts, directed by Roger Rees. Mr. Rees has also smartly directed the McCarter production, which comments on the audience's relationship to fame and all that onstage charm by putting the star's (supposed) dressing room right onstage, where he can be seen (supposedly) preparing for the show.
The problem with the production, and it is a considerable one, is that we don't see the point of the story coming, at least not nearly soon enough. Much of the time, only the surface shows. Little George's experience with Lou does, however, immediately seem to explain the unnatural instant maturity that comes to some child performers and how that seeming maturity can pull those youngsters away from their parents.
''Herringbone'' sees the universe swarming with demons, hovering about, just waiting for openings. When a human with talent becomes aware enough of that gift to be proud of it, or finds and is seduced by fame, the demons sense that weakness and rush right in. Or it may be that talent and fame are themselves the demons, disguised in angels' clothing. Either way, they get little George as he rapidly becomes a star.
People in show business can appreciate stories like this because they enjoy analyzing their own reactions to fame and praise. Audiences appreciate them because we tend to be fascinated by fame, probably because of its general unattainability. We're entranced by celebrity, determined to figure out which of these well-lighted strangers are really nice people and which are despicable egotists beneath their red-carpet smiles. Keep in mind one of George Burns's favorite lines: ''Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.''
All that ''Herringbone'' knows for sure is that if you're infected by fame, it will grow and grow. And eventually it will get the upper hand.
''Herringbone,'' by Tom Cone, Skip Kennon and Ellen Fitzhugh, at the Berlind Theater, McCarter Theater Center, 91 University Place, Princeton, through Oct. 12. Information: (609) 258-2787 or mccarter.org."
