JOAN MARCUS by Eugene Paul Since we all know from long experience of Pinter plays that, with very few exceptions, we are gathered here to admire, not to enjoy, our role is pre-defined. How to make the admiration roll out differently is the task at hand for director Douglas Hodge and company and all…
Sam Rockwell and Nina Arianda Photo credits Joan Marcus By David Schultz Sam Shepard’s Mythical American West; seedy motel, wounded couple, raw sex, seventy-five minutes of overwrought angst Originally produced Off Broadway in 1983, this Sam Shepard work made waves for its intense, poetic existential take on a couple trying to repair the…
Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones (Photo credit: Joan Marcus) By Eugene Paul Weller Marin is a big, old crabass who likes to play cards but he’s such a short tempered, irascible son of a bitch always losing his temper and cussin’ up a storm that nobody in that old wreck of an Old…
Pictured Center: Josh Young @2015, Joan Marcus By Eugene Paul Every play that manages to get on its feet and actually presented before the public is the result of many acts of faith, love and magical thinking. It’s enough to keep Tinker Bell whizzing around the globe forever more. Amazing Grace is all of…
By Michall Jeffers Suggestion: if you have out-of-town visitors this summer, take them to see Mama Mia. At the performance I attended, the audience was filled with foreign tourists, many of them Asian, and they were having a ball. Let’s face it, the plot is simple, and the language is easy to understand for anyone with…
Chita Rivera as Claire Zachanassian and the cast of The Visit – Photo by Thom Kaine by David Schultz It took 14 years for this dark-hued musical to settle into a Broadway house. The Visit debuted in September 2001 in Chicago, then at the Signature Theatre in 2008, with additional out-of-town developments and workshops. A…
Photos Joan Marcus by Julia Polinsky Right from the start, Michael James Scott, as The Minstrel, treats the audience to the opening song (“Welcome to the Renaissance”), a real razzle dazzle, over the top, you-can’t-touch-this Broadway song and dance. In doublet and pantaloons. The curtain rises; the ensemble joins in; farthingales sway and knee…
Photos by Jenny Anderson by David Schultz Standing out on its own unique oasis, this mesmerizing chamber musical strikes many emotional chords. No need to have lived this woman’s rather unusual life or suffered the extreme heartbreak she encountered to connect with it. This is first and foremost a memory play about family and…
Photos by Joan Marcus by Russell Bouthiller Set in the Big Easy, the Manhattan Theater Club production of Lisa DAmour’s comedy, Airline Highway, tackles a Grand Hotel plot and sets it at a less-than-grand motel. Directed by the prolific Tony Award winner, Joe Montello tackles this dark comedy, which is set in New…
Ken Watanabe as the King of Siam & Kelli O’Hara as Anna photos by Paul Kolnick By Michall Jeffers A hush comes over the house. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and we’re not disappointed. In the middle of the friendly dance, the King tells Mrs. Anna that holding two hands is not…