Review: "Theory" at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
The controversy of political correctness versus freedom of speech, in a university classroom setting which must encourage progressive thought, left me with so many unanswered questions at the conclusion of Norman Yeung’s ‘Theory’ now on stage at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. Along with the intersectionality of these two elements, the story is also graphic at times in language, themes and visual presentation of projected images. Did I feel cheated because I had unanswered questions? Slightly, as I really wish there was a talk back with the performers in order to gain further insight into the text.
Review: ‘Motown: the Musical’ at Leeds Grand Theatre
The modern musical is finding itself at a crossroads, particularly those modern musicals that tell the stories of artists and expand on their legacy. I’ve noticed many have started to diversify from the traditional jukebox ‘tribute show’ style and adopt the stylistic stances of musicals that actually use songs as a vehicle to explore narrative and character. So when I finally got the chance to see ‘Motown: the Musical’, I looked forward to seeing how the show that celebrates the story of music giant and Motown founder Berry Gordy makes use of its new theatrical home to expand on the label’s rich history.
Review: “Next to Normal” at Casa Manana
Casa Manana’s exceptional performance of the emotionally evocative 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical,” Next to Normal,” plunges headlong into the turbulent waters of a modern suburban family battling the painful, life-altering effects of mental illness. Through an intimate, roller coaster exploration of the twists, turns, peaks and steep plunges of the mind, “Next to Normal” dives deep to unmask the face of those struggling with depression, isolation, anxiety, loneliness and more.
Review: "Divination" at American Theatre of Actors NYC
“Divination” is not a perfect play, but it expresses ideas that are often thought about with an ensemble of unique individuals dealing with the struggles that we deal with everyday. I hope as the play continues to evolve that it will not lose sight of these wonderfully fascinating ideas.
Review: “Small Craft Warnings” at 13th Street Repertory Theatre
Widely considered to be one of the finest playwrights of the 20th century, titles such as “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” are often among the first to come to mind, when someone hears the name Tennessee Williams. However, while those plays came during the earlier part of his career, the final decade or so of his life is more associated with his personal troubles than with anything to do with his artistic output. This is a terrible shame, as there are still plenty of gems worth appreciating, when looking back on this period of his life. Among them is “Small Craft Warnings”, first produced in 1972 and now revived at the historic 13th Street Repertory Theatre by Regeneration Theatre.
Review: “Gemini” at Theatre Row NYC
Though, I feel “Gemini” doesn’t dig in to Francis’ struggles with his homosexuality as much as I would have liked to see, instead opting for the wacky antics of the people around him, and the ending feels sudden, the actors and director did a fine job with the text that they were given and put on a show that will be enjoyable for the audience.
Review: “Thousand Pines” at Westport Country Playhouse
Watching Matthew Greene’s triptych “Thousand Pines” is like sitting down to a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast – the kind made up of individual, familiar parts you already like, the kind that takes center stage in Walt Spangler’s homey set – only to find a few side dishes that, while tasty, don’t nearly fill you up. It’s a frustratingly fuzzy experience, especially since there’s such a compelling story so close to the surface. But more often than not, Greene’s work is well-meaning but rushed, overstuffed and undernourished.
Review: "Freefall Frostbite" at Feinstein’s/54 Below
A new musical, Freefall Frostbite, was presented as a 65-minute concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Tuesday, October 16.
“Freefall Frostbite” is a full, two-act musical. This is the show’s third New York engagement, following an October 2017 run at St. Mark’s Theater. The show originally premiered in 2013 at the NYC International Fringe Festival, but was completely reimagined with a new score and altered script.
A UK review in [exactly] 250 words: “Jane Eyre” at Watermill Theatre
“Jane Eyre” is well-acted by a cast of only three. The title role is played by Rebecca Tebbett, whose performance is suitably grounded and down-to-earth, whilst still being immensely likable. Wreh-Asha Walton and Alex Wilson play all of the remaining characters, which is quite a feat. They switch between the roles deftly, and perform all of them with great conviction.
Review: Apocalypse for Tea — Soulpepper and Necessary Angel Present "Escaped Alone"
It is in those rare moments where one gets to see something uncommon in theatre that stirs the heart and makes one’s love of theatre grow. Case in point — Caryl Churchill’s “Escaped Alone”, being presented by Soulpepper in conjunction with Necessary Angel Theatre.
The play explores the relationship of three friends in their sixties or older, Vi (Brenda Robins), Lena (Kyra Harper), and Sally (Maria Vacratsis) — and a lesser-known neighbour they don’t know as well, Mrs. Jarrett (Clare Coulter), who arrives and joins them for tea in Sally’s backyard. Mrs. Jarrett listens intently as the three women chat about their lives and neighbourhood, finishing and cutting off each other’s sentences as only long-time friends can do. The action occasionally freezes, and Mrs. Jarrett delivers chilling and surreal accounts of apocalyptic visions, often with details that satirize our current social media climate (for example, people taking selfies amid a disaster event in case they get a chance to post them at some point).
U.K. Review: ‘Rain Man’ at Leeds Grand Theatre
I’ve noticed a recent trend in the rise of pieces of theatre inspired by stories from across the States, as well as productions actually brought over from there too. It almost seems as if British directors are seeing the merit in finding and understanding the universal power of narratives from other cultures, and seeing how they interweave with our own narratives and culture. On that note, I popped into the Leeds Grand Theatre to check out The Classic Screen to Stage Theatre Company’s latest adaptation of the classic MGM film ‘Rain Man’.
Review: “Jesus Hopped The A Train” at Collective Consciousness Theatre
Spoken in Riggins’ hoarse yet commanding drawl, modulating his speed and timbre with the dexterity of a blues guitarist, it’s the kind of moment when a play hits a perfect bulls-eye. Backed up by wonderful performances all around – especially McCarthy who does heart-breaking and detailed work as Mary Jane – “Jesus” is the kind of tough, uncompromising theater that is as philosophically engaging as it is emotionally and theatrically. That’s a rare thing to find anywhere, let alone in smaller professional or community groups. It’s the reason I keep coming back to Collective Consciousness.
Off-Broadway Review: “India Pale Ale”
Jaclyn Backhaus’s “India Pale Ale” currently running at Manhattan Theatre Club’s New York City Center Stage I has acollection of “teachable moments.” Some of the lessons are rather unimportant though interesting. The audience learns the history of IPA (India Pale Ale), the hops and alcohol content of the iconic enhanced pale ale, and how at least one white hipster Tim (a lumbering and naïve Nate Miller) does not know what the “I” in “IPA” stands for. Other lessons are significantly more important. The audience learns the migratory history of Basminder “Boz” Batra (an energetic and spirited Shazi Raja) and her Punjabi family to the United States and theirnew home in Raymond, Wisconsin. Boz and her brother Iggy (a deeply sensitive and ebullient Sathya Sridharan) are second-generation American citizens.And the audience learns that Boz wants to leave Raymond and open a bar in nearby Madison, Wisconsin.
Broadway Review: “Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song”
The journey to achieving Arnold’s commendable goals is a universal one as are the hopes and dreams of the characters in “Torch Song.” One wishes for even more relevant themes for the LGBTQ+ community in the first half of the twenty-first century.
Review: “When We Went Electronic” at The Tank
After a long and busy night involving sex and intoxication, it might be easy to forget what happened, with memories getting blurred and distorted, leaving them to question how good or bad last night really was. In Caitlin Saylor Stephens’s new play at The Tank, we see this type of scenario play out in a highly absurdist fashion, as two American Apparel models question the reality of the events of what happened the previous night.
Review: New Stage Adaptation of “Murder on the Orient Express” Stops at La Mirada
Perhaps one of the most well-known detective mysteries ever published, Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” essentially became the subconscious blueprint for similar whodunnit stories that came after, particularly those that involve a confined room full of plausible suspects that are all under investigation by a brilliant sleuth.
Review: "Simple Math" - Solving the Neurobiology of Assault
In a year where it was very difficult to be a woman “Simple Math” offers a cathartic revelation for countless people who have been assaulted and then groomed or shamed into silence with its message being: you’re not alone, and more importantly it isn’t your fault. And given the current political climate one can’t help but commend that.
Off-Broadway Review: “Days of Rage”
Rooms full of missed opportunities sprawl across Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theatre where Steven Levenson’s new play “Days of Rage” is running through November 2018. Mr. Levenson, the award-winning book-writer of “Dear Evan Hansen, tackles the important issues of nationalism, xenophobia, and racism against the backdrop of a radical collective of three friends protesting the “atrocities” of the Vietnam War. The time is October 1969 and Spence (an intense yet vulnerable Mike Faist), Jenny (a devoted and lonesome Lauren Patten), and Quinn (an unbridled and combative Odessa Young) share a ramshackle old house in upstate New York where they espouse the tenets of Lenin, Marx, and Engels and are engaged in recruiting other anti-war advocates to join them in a road trip to Chicago where an estimated twenty-five thousand will gather to rage against the war, the President, and the establishment.
Review: "YouthandDeath at Dixon Place
“YouthandDeath”, written, directed, and choreographed by Chris Bell, tells several stories of his life all strewn together in the fragmented way that one would recall things from memory using beautiful dance, a narration from Bell that feels very much like a spoken word poem, and a unique selection of music ranging from Cole Porter to Nicki Manaj. It features an ensemble of four dancers (Nicole Baker, London Brison, AJ Guevara, and Katarina Lott) each representing a different essential aspect of life, being (in no particular order) Youth, Death, Change, and Beauty.
Off-Broadway Review: “What the Constitution Means to Me” at New York Theatre Workshop
After greeting the audience at New York Theatre Workshop, playwright Heidi Schreck introduces her play “What the Constitution Means to Me” as follows: “When I was 15 years old, I travelled the country giving speeches about the Constitution at American Legion halls for prize money. This was a scheme invented by my mom, who was a debate coach, to help me pay for college.” For ninety minutes, Ms. Schreck rehearses those speeches not for prize money but to remind the audience that the Constitution has been less protective of human rights than its drafters intended and to warn the audience that the main culprit in this diminution of protection is the Supreme Court of the United States.