Review: “One More Time with Malice” at the Robert Moss Theatre
Depression and mental health. HIV and AIDS, and the impact it particularly has had on gay couples. Bigotry toward the LGBTQ community. The economic struggles of those who can’t keep up with the cost of rent and health insurance. These are all themes which have been tackled before in theatre, and I’ve seen many plays that do a fine job at doing so. Yet all of them play a part in the story of Rob Cardazone’s new play One More Time with Malice, which recently premiered at the Robert Moss Theater.
Review: “Time Stands Still” at Theater for the New City
Anyone who’s ever been in love knows that it isn’t always easy, and that it doesn’t always end pretty. As people grow with each other, they realize that their interests aren’t as mutual as perhaps they once were, and that perhaps the idea of the person whom they once loved no longer matches up with whom they really are. This is a very basic premise that is explored in the play Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies, which was recently revived for an Off-Off-Broadway run at Theater for the New City.
A UK Review In (Exactly) 250 Words: "Electra" at the Bunker Theatre
Electra, currently playing at London's Bunker Theatre, is John Ward's punk-rock, modernised retelling of a Greek myth in which a family tears itself apart in a savage fight for power, and revenge. Electra is a small production, simple in many ways, but tense, convincing and atmospheric.
Review: "Seeds" at Utopia Theater Project
When soldiers returned home from World War II, many protected their families and loved ones from what they experienced on the battlefield. However, in Anne Yumi Kobori’s new play Seeds, these secrets haunt these soldiers, as they attempt to readapt to life after the war.
Review: "Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" at Long Wharf Theatre
Playwright Ken Ludwig is making the rounds here in Connecticut with another piece that originated at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton in 2015. This time, it’s an adaptation of another mystery writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his illustrious pipe-smoking sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, with a reworking of one of Doyle’s most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, The Hound of Baskerville.
Review: “Phantom of the Paradise in Concert” at the Secret Loft
There are plenty of classic shows, books, and films out there that are just ripe for parody. Among this endless list of such examples is The Phantom of the Opera, both the musical we often think of when we hear that title, as well the novel it was based on. Yet despite this, it’s not frequently common to find very many Phantom parodies out there. However, there is one – Phantom of the Paradise – which I had the chance to see staged in a concert format at the Secret Loft earlier this week.
Off-Broadway Review: “Amy and the Orphans”
Ms. Brewer rises to deliver an exceptional performance full of fierce bravery, standing tall to deliver an unwavering curtain closing speech comprised of familiar movie lines that cuts to the emotional core. It is a moment that is so honest the words spoken take on a completely new meaning that resonate heartbreaking hope.
Review: "The Play That Goes Wrong" - UK Touring Production
It's very rare that a play is considered mainstream, plus popular among audiences of all ages and demographics. However, that seems to be the case with Mischief Theatre's farce, The Play That Goes Wrong. After a hugely successful run in London's west end, the production is now on a tour of the United Kingdom. So I thought I best go and see what all the fuss was about.
Off-Broadway Review: “Kings” at the Public Theater
It is difficult for a script and a cast of actors, even as talented at this “King’s” cast, to compete with the reality of the headlines. The challenge comes not only from the vigor of the daily news but also from the somewhat dated material in the narrative itself. Under Thomas Kail’s uneven direction, the actors often appear to be talking “at” one another instead of engaging in believable conversation.
Review: Bravo to "The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk"
Taking my teenage daughter to see The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, I had no idea this beautiful production would be such a fascinating historical love story. I thought it might enlighten her about the great painter Marc Chagall, yet soon discovered it was also about his hardship and bigotry as a Jew living through both World Wars.
Off-Broadway Review: “A Letter to Harvey Milk”
"The new musical “A Letter to Harvey Milk” has good intentions but becomes confusing as it attempts to address too many issues and wavers from emotional drama to Borsht Belt comedy.
Review: The Multifaceted Sarah Jones in "Sell/Buy/Date"
Sell/Buy/Date made its world premier in 2016 at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York with Jones longtime collaborator and director Carolyn Cantor. Together they offer the audience a humanizing experience about the “oldest profession” prostitution and trafficking women.
Broadway Review: “Farinelli and the King”
Mark Rylance gives awakening to the recitative from Handel’s “Ho perso il caro ben” a truly mystical tone. And Sam Crane brings an authentic vulnerability to his role as Farinelli that counterpoints brilliantly with the tempered desperation of Mark Rylance’s Philippe.
Review: "Widowers’ Houses" at Aurora Theater Company
Shaw is not an easy playwright to decipher, and Aurora Theatre Company was able to make a thoughtful interpretation that entertained while teaching the audience, through societal concepts of another era.
Off-Broadway Review: “Hangmen” at Atlantic Theater Company
Under Matthew Dunster’s keen direction, the members of the cast uniformly deliver stunningly authentic performances that honor Martin McDonagh’s rich, dark approach to disturbingly significant themes, many of which are playing out currently on the national and global stages.
U.K. Review: "The Nature of Forgetting" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Every Third Minute Festival, a festival ultimately curated to encourage discussions about living with dementia, is well under way. Just under a week ago the Courtyard Theatre played host to their production of Still Alice, which sensitively brought to life the struggles of being diagnosed with the condition. Continuing in the same thread of the tangibility and power of memory is Theatre Re’s latest show The Nature of Forgetting, devised by the company and conceived and directed by Guillaume Pigé.
Review: Melanie Griffith Headlines New Stage Adaptation of "THE GRADUATE" at the Laguna Playhouse
Overall, despite its missteps and being an imperfect adaptation, I have to say that I still found "THE GRADUATE" an entertaining piece of live theater on many levels. Ms. Griffith may draw you in out of curiosity, but I recommend staying for the whole experience not only to witness a promising newcomer's early acting work but also to see a quote-heavy Reader's Digest version of a nostalgic trip.
Off-Broadway Review: “The Amateurs” at Vineyard Theatre
Under Oliver Butler’s direction, the actors wrestle with the plays disparate themes (perhaps too many unresolved conflicts?) with honesty. Happy Endings, guilt, fear, catharsis – all get bandied about at the play’s end with more questions raised than answers given. Whether catharsis is “innately complacent” (Playwright) or “delicious” will be up to the audience to decide. We are all, after all, amateurs at this humanity gig.
Review: A Front Row Seat at "Jackie Unveiled"
Walking into the Lovelace Studio Theatre, scenic designer Francois-Pierre Couture replicates Jacqueline Kennedy’s elegant living room inside her Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City. Under a bench is the board game Risk, and children’s toys are carefully placed around the room to clue the audience that John-John and Caroline live here too.