Writer
Roses are red; violets are blue. David loves theater, and hopes you do, too.
It’s beyond unusual to start a show with the stars taking a bow. But Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone wield such theatrical clout that, as they walk onstage in The Roommate at the Booth Theatre, winding through designer Bob Crowley’s suggestive, minimalist stage, they get a round of applause, then walk off. And then the…
Biko Eisen-Martin, Michael Rishawn, and Kara Young in Table 17. Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez Table 17 By David Schultz Playwright Douglas Lyons gives this savvy modern-day update of a rom-com unexpected dimension and heft. In a mere 80 minutes, and with a superb three-member cast, Table 17 dissects a fractured romantic relationship with precision. With…
After two sold out runs downtown, this probing drama has moved to Broadway. Director Michael Herwitz marshals this two-hander with an undercurrent of suspense that quickly intensifies as the evening progresses. Written by 26-year-old playwright Max Wolf Friedlich, this 80-minute roller coaster ride jolts audiences from the first scene, as Jane (Sydney Lemmon), shakily aims…
A new theatrical adaption of Sarah Gruen’s popular 2006 novel, Water for Elephants, has set up its Big Top smack in Times Square. Wonder of wonders, it culls much from the novel and trims the excess to streamline the drama to its fullest extent. As in most adaptations, there inevitably are dry patches with the…
Jenna Rose Husli, Wren Rivera, Alyse Alan Louis, Phoenix Best, and Helen J Shen (Photo: Chelcie Parry) Teeth By David Schultz Who could have guessed that a grade B horror flick could be transmogrified into a musical? With Teeth, Anna K. Jacobs (Book & Music) and Michael R. Jackson (Book & Lyrics) have done just…
John Turturro (Photo: Monique Carboni) Sabbath’s Theater Reviewed by David Schultz The first thing you hear as the lights dim are a couple in the throes of ecstatic sex. The final image at the end of this one act play is seeing 64-year-old Mickey Sabbath (John Turturro) naked as a jaybird swathed in…
Christina Kirk (Photo: Ahron R Foster) Infinite Life By David Schultz The sold-out run of Annie Baker’s latest is once again a polarizing experience for audiences. All her usual signature touchstones are on display. As director James Macdonald noted in a recent interview, “She’s a high priestess of silence and stillness.” He’s in tune…
Kelli O Hara and Brian d Arcy James (Photo Credit: Ahron R. Foster) Days of Wine and Roses By David Schultz This haunting chamber musical is perfectly suited for composer Adam Guettel (Floyd Collins, The Light in the Piazza). The complex contrapuntal stylistic music is Guettel s signature calling card. Sweet, simple melodic…
Sophia Anne Caruso, Alyssa Emily Marvin, Millicent Simmonds (Photo: MurphyMade, 2023) Grey House Hokum and Horror mix uneasily in this eerie play By David Schultz Playwright Levi Holloway has a lot to unpack in this dense, psychological horror-infused tale. As directed by Joe Mantello, the familiar supernatural tropes are laid out in the outset. The…
Hiran Abeysekera (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) Life of Pi By David Schultz Based on the Booker Prize-wining novel by Yann Martel, this unique tale has been given new life on stage. Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti has channeled all the inherent mystical magic of the book into a totally engrossing visual pageant. Directed…