Writer
Roses are red; violets are blue. David loves theater, and hopes you do, too.
The cast of Dear World at Encores! (Photo: Joan Marcus) Dear World By David Schultz The Encores! Spring season started in earnest with this brief look back on composer Jerry Herman’s rare misstep. This book-troubled tuner had a shockingly brief three month run circa 1969. Coming on the heels of his two blockbuster musicals,…
The cast of Parade. (Photo by Joan Marcus) Parade By David Schultz and Julia Polinsky Julia: In the achingly, throbbingly, beautifully sung revival of Parade now on Broadway, Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond sing their hearts and souls out. Parade tells the story of Leo Frank (Platt), a Jewish businessman from Brooklyn living in…
Katie Holmes and Eddie Kaye Thomas in The Wanderers. (Photo by Joan Marcus) The Wanderers By David Schultz and Julia Polinsky David: Playwright Anna Ziegler’s overly stuffed The Wanderers has quite a lot on its mind. The comingling of past and present at first seems confusing, but the story does settle eventually with a…
Stephen McKinley Henderson in Between Riverside and Crazy. Photo by Joan Marcus Between Riverside and Crazy By David Schultz Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis must be grinning like The Cheshire Cat. First staged almost ten years ago at The Atlantic Theater in Chelsea, followed by a move uptown to The Second Stage in 2015,…
Nancy Robinette, Daniel Oreskes, Richard Masur, Ari Brand, Ethan Haberfield (Photo: Jeremy Daniels) Prayer for the French Republic By David Schultz Complex generational stories are a dime a dozen. Prayer for the French Republic, penned by Joshua Harmon (Significant Other, Bad Jews), is the exception. This play, currently running at Manhattan Theatre Club s Friedman…
Anyone Can Whistle by David Schultz Master Voices One Night Concert revived a rarely performed early Steven Sondheim musical at Carnegie Hall for ardent Sondheim lovers. The Sold-Out crowd was primed and outwardly effusive to experience the work in full glory. Musical conductor Ted Sperling marshaled a 22-piece orchestra and 60-person chorus…
Woman in Black By David Schultz Author Susan Hill’s haunted gothic novel has been adapted for the stage yet again. It is hard to fathom that this worn-out creaky ghost story has been running for 30 years, and gone on an unfathomable 14 tours worldwide. A British television rendition ran in the…
photos, credit Richard Termine Medea By David Schultz This ancient tragedy by Greek playwright Euripides was written in 431 BCE, and is his most well-known play. This shocking story of Mother Love mingled with demonic revenge has been given a shaky modern reboot for current millennials to ponder. Upon entering the cavernous hulking semi…
Halfway Bitches Go Straight To Heaven By David Schultz This highly respected playwright has a unique predilection for unusual titles. As these various past plays can attest…Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, and his most recent From Riverside to Crazy, which won the coveted…
Samuel H Levine, Kyle Soller, Andrew Burnap The Inheritance by David Schultz A modern gay intergenerational riff on Howard’s End operatic in scope. Finding a soulmate in writer E.M. Forster was the furthest thing from a 16-year-old kid’s mindset. But on what would prove to be a fortuitous life changing moment, young Matthew Lopez…