Off-Broadway Archives

Richard Topol and Cassie Beck           photos by Joan Marcus                                  by Deirdre Donovan Misogynist? Madman?  Genius?  The Swedish-writer August Strindberg was all of these, and then some.  Born on January 22, 1849 on the islet of Riddarholmen in Stockholm, Strindberg became—in the admiring words of Eugene O’Neil—the “most modern of moderns” when it…

                                     David Ganly and Niall Buggy (back)                                                       Photos by Patrick Redmond   On Blueberry Hill                         By Ron Cohen On Blueberry Hill is a testament to the power of acting that’s both skilled and inspired. This Irish drama, in a production from Ireland’s award-winning Fishamble theater company, is basically two interlocking monologues, each of…

Marin Ireland                                                                                           Photo Credit: Ahron R. Foster   Blue Ridge                      By Ron Cohen Alison, the central character in emerging playwright Abby Rosebrock’s heartfelt if somewhat muddled drama Blue Ridge, is a high school English teacher who can get really angry. How angry?  When the school principal who’s also her lover does her wrong…

      Waiting for Godot in Yiddish (Vartn Af Godot)                   by Julia Polinsky   So, nu? You never secretly suspected that, all along, Godot was really a comedy about a couple of confused, irritated alte kockers who have zero idea what’s going on? Well, you could have, because the New Yiddish Rep’s…

Photo credit Dan Norman                                  By Jeanne Lieberman Forget the singing Santa’s and athletic elves, this simple direct-to-the-heart production will eclipse any other Christmas show and should be a perennial for Christmas, Easter and/or anytime your faith in humanity needs healing. ALL is Calm, as presented by the Theater Latte Da at the Sheen Center,…

                            by Deirdre Donovan  “How wonderful to see you all!” remarks Michael C. Hall as he stands on stage in total darkness after trying to light a cigarette in the opening scene of Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing).  Hall, who plays the nominal character, gets a big laugh from the audience.  And many more…

                               By Edward and Jeanne Lieberman The Armonk Players’ current production of The Foreigner features an outstanding cast in a madcap comedy that is arguably more timely today than when it was first written in 1984.  The play was written by Larry Shue and won Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Off-Broadway Play and Outstanding…

Tim Daly and Tyne Daly. Photo: James Leynse   Downstairs                 By Fern Siegel It is an accepted axiom that brutal people often destroy the good. It can result in mental or physical damage, or simply the threat of harm, should you cross them. The legacy of familial violence is the subject of Theresa…

Aoife Kelly and Phil Gillen                                                    photos by Jeremy Daniel                                  By Ron Cohen The course of true love never did run smooth. That probably wasn’t big news circa 1598 when Shakespeare wrote that immortal line in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And it certainly wasn’t any more astounding some 400 years later when the master…