Writer
Fern Siegel is a journalist who has written for MediaPost, Huffington Post, The New York Times and BBC Radio. She believes Sondheim and Gershwin make America great.
The ensemble cast confronts danger in Into the Woods. (Matthew Murphy) Into the Woods By Fern Siegel “Are you certain what you wish is what you want?” asks the Baker in Stephen Sondheim’s masterwork Into the Woods. The interlocking stories of fairy-tale characters offering a treasure trove of psychological insights has its latest Broadway revival…
Jonathan Hadary, C.J. Wilson, Heather Burns, Marylouise Burke and Omar Metwally star in Brian Watkins’ Epiphany. (Jeremy Daniel) Epiphany By Fern Siegel There are epiphanies and the Epiphany. One is a sudden realization of the essential meaning of an idea or event. The other is an often-forgotten holiday celebrated on Jan. 6 that…
(l-r) Beanie Feldstein, Ramin Karimloo Funny Girl By Fern Siegel Fanny Brice was a funny girl — a funny Jewish girl who worked in burlesque and was a headliner for the great Florenz Ziegfeld. A hit on radio, the multi-talented Brice was beloved by many at a time when ethnic humor was in…
Laura Linney Photo by: Matthew Murphy My Name Is Lucy Barton By Fern Siegel Tony-nominated actress Laura Linney (The Little Foxes, Time Stands Still) can probably count on another nomination for her exquisite performance in My Name Is Lucy Barton, a solo play based on the Elizabeth Strout novel. As Lucy Brown recounts her nine-week…
Marissa Tomei Photo: Joan Marcus The Rose Tattoo By Fern Siegel “There is something wild in the air.” The phrase is uttered as The Rose Tattoo opens, a minor play in Tennessee Williams’ canon. The story arc is thin, and it’s hard to get overly engaged with the characters, though a sultry sense permeates…
Sea Wall/A Life By Fern Siegel Tom Sturridge Photo: Richard Hubert Smith An intimate chamber piece now at the Hudson Theater, Sea Wall/A Life posits two men musing on life, death and love. But mostly, it’s about death. The double bill, by authors Simon Stephens (Sea Wall) and Nick Payne (A Life), embarks on…
The Rolling Stone By Fern Siegel In Uganda, where evangelical religion is married to homophobia, Dembe (Ato Blankson-Wood) goes looking for love in all the wrong places. Specifically, with Sam (Robert Gilbert), a charming Irish doctor, the son of a Ugandan woman. Sam is resolute in his passions, while Dembe is acutely aware of…
LaChanze, Jai’Len Christine Li Josey, Vita E. Cleveland, Elizabeth Teeter and Romelda Teron Benjamin Photo: Ahron R. Foster The Secret Life of Bees By Fern Siegel “Some folks are born on the wrong side of right,” Rosaleen (Saycon Sengbloh) explains to teenage Lily (Elizabeth Teeter), the white daughter of an abusive father….
Simon Williams, Lucy Fleming. Photo: Carol Rosegg Postings To The Moon By Fern Siegel Sometimes, the simplest presentation is the most effective. Postings To The Moon is a true story, set during World War II. It is tender, occasionally funny and quietly hypnotic. And it’s all told via letters. Now…
Bertie Carvel, Jonny Lee Miller. Photo: Joan Marcus Ink By Fern Siegel Newspapers and TV have been forever changed by one man: Rupert Murdoch. It all began in 1969, the year Murdoch, a brash, reptilian Australian publisher, transformed the U.K.’s Sun, a respectable, low-circulation paper into an in-your-face tabloid that upended Fleet Street norms….