Photographs by Joan Marcus by Eugene Paul Once upon a time a long time ago in 1973, when a fat, smug country called the U.S.A was being upended with riots and protests about a perfectly natural condition which they had finally legislated in 1964 called Civil Rights, a beautiful baby boy named Lesane…
Marisa Tomei and Michael C Hall Photos by Joan Marcus In spite of its misleading title, Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses is a charming new play that is bound to tickle your funny bone and make you think twice about the people who live next door. Directed by Sam Gold, and featuring a top-notch cast,…
Daniel Radcliffe photos by Johan Persson The Cripple of Inishmaan By: Eric Grunin Let’s get the most important thing out of the way first: this is an excellent production of a very good play, and you should all go see it. Don’t be scared off by the tragic aspects, because in all likelihood you’ll…
Chris O’Dowd and James Franco in Of Mice and Men (photos by Richard Phibbs) OF MICE AND MEN by EUGENE PAUL If you’ve managed to keep up with the smoothly ongoing hype machine which has propelled James Franco into the front ranks of media stars you are also aware that New York City police…
By Michall Jeffers Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig (Joan Marcus) There’s no doubt about it; Neil Patrick Harris is a rock star. His fans are out in force for his stellar turn as Hedwig, a transplanted “girly boy” from East Berlin who’s had a tough life, including a botched sex change operation. The angry inch…
ALL THE WAY Reviewed by EUGENE PAUL Bryan Cranston as LBJ There’s a classical theatrical bromide been around for ages: “There are no small parts, there are only small players.” Total bull ca ca. I don’t know how many brilliant actors are walking the streets completely unappreciated because they’ve never been zapped by the Fickle…
04/06/2014 If/Then By: Eugene Paul Idina Menzel and James Snyder in a scene from If/Then (Photo credit: Joan Marcus) Composer Tom Kitt and lyricist/book author Brian Yorkey, prize winners for their Next to Normal, have written an original show – “original” in the sense that it is not based on a film or another written…
03/28/2014 The Bridges of Madison County By: Jeannie Lieberman Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale photo credit Joan Marcus If you l loved Robert James Waller’s 1992 book, got teary through the Meryl Streep/ Clint Eastwood 1995 movie, nothing brings a story home as watching it live onstage.j This version is utterly and unabashedly romantic. Especially…
03/26/2014 Aladdin By: Jeannie Lieberman Arabian Nights opening number in Aladdin (Photo credit: Deen Van Meer) Disney Does It Again! Delivers the requisite feel good family show utilizing all the resources at hand. The delightful 1992 animated film is now brought to glorious Technicolor life thanks to the efforts of a crack team: Director/ choreographer…
01/29/2014 Machinal By: Eugene Paul Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector in a scene from Machinal (Photo credit: Joan Marcus) If you look up “Machinal” in English dictionaries, you’ll find definitions centering on its reference to machines. The French do it better: they liken “Machinal” to one’s life becoming machine like. Rebecca Hall, lovely scion of…