Ella Dershowitz (Photo: Valerie Terranova) Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library By Julia Polinsky A basement prison cell: white walls, high windows. Two chairs, a desk, a door. A young man (Brett Temple) in a German army uniform of the early 1930s hustles in a young woman (Ella Dershowitz). He demands her purse,…
Bedlam’s Music City, a country-western musical featuring the songs of million-selling songwriter JT Harding, is as warm-hearted and feel-good as a Hallmark Christmas movie. Even if you don’t particularly like country music, some kickass performances from superb performers, a tight, bright musical sound, and a gritty, welcoming, enveloping environment make this almost-jukebox musical a must—see….
Susan Kelechi Watson, Crystal Dickinson, Lauren E. Banks, Adrienne C. Moore. (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) The Blood Quilt By Deirdre Donovan Of all the productions opening this season, Katori Hall’s The Blood Quilt at Lincoln Center best illuminates the African American experience. Under the direction of Lileana Blain-Cruz, this thousand-thread show, awash with 100 quilts and…
Richard Topol, José Espinosa (Photo: Pavel Antonov) The Merchant of Venice By Deirdre Donovan The Arlekin Players Theatre’s new production of The Merchant of Venice at the Classic Stage Company, adapted and directed by Igor Golyak, is a wild and wooly take on Shakespeare’s great work about anti-Semitism and bigotry. Although it brings some fresh…
The cast of Shit.Meet.Fan. (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Shit. Meet. Fan. By David Schultz Based on a 2016 Italian film, “Perfect Strangers,” this slick, shallow production attempts to update the tale from the film. In fits and starts, it has its perverse amusements, but in the long run it runs out of steam well before the…
Scott Shepherd (Photo: Joan Marcus) Gatz By Deirdre Donovan Gatz is back! The Elevator Repair Service’s (ESR) verbatim reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby returns to the Public Theater for its swan song. Directed by John Collins, and starring Scott Shepherd as Nick, this encore production is truly a gift to theatergoers who…
Dominic Weintraub, William Strom, Hugo Williams, and Claire Bird (Photo: Teddy Wolff) Burnout Paradise By Deirdre Donovan The live game show Burnout Paradise, now making its North American debut at St. Ann’s Warehouse, is experimental theater at its best and zaniest. Directed, written, designed, and performed by Australia’s Pony Cam, a collective based in Melbourne,…
Joseph Kloska, Kenneth Branagh (Photo: Marc J. Franklin) King Lear By Deirdre Donovan The legendary theater director Peter Brook compared King Lear to a mountain whose summit has never been reached. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh seems to have taken that observation as an invitation to scale what is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest achievement. But although Branagh grabs…
Deirdre Lovejoy, Donnetta Lavinia Grays (Photo:Valerie Terranova) In The Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot By Julia Polinsky Family, climate, love, survival: Sarah Mantell’s In The Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, directed by Sivan Battat and now at Playwrights Horizons, takes on some big subjects. Speculatively set in a not-too-distant future, the play gradually makes it clear that…
Adam Driver (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Hold On To Me Darling Playwright Kenneth Lonergan’s revival of his 2016 play has much to offer in its new incarnation. Once again directed by Neil Pepe, the finely tuned cast brings out the humor and pathos in fits and starts. The running time of almost three hours gives…