by Deirdre Donovan Following a season with so many musicals suffering from elephantitis, the musical Lonesome Blues is refreshingly intimate. An homage to the legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, it breezed into the York Theatre on June 12th and will sojourn there for a brief run. Co-written by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatunde and…
Rick Holmes, Jordan Lage, Meredith Forlenza, Kristen Bush, Laura Kai Chen By Ron Cohen Both the haves and the have-nots get their knocks in Anthony Giardina’s Dan Cody’s Yacht, a relentless examination of the crossroads of education and affluence. It’s a serious and pertinent theme, and Giardina, a well-practiced playwright (The City of…
Director Rome Neal and cast By R. Pikser Americans are not great appreciators of satire, especially political satire. Luckily, Ishmael Reed is still out there, showing us how ridiculous our situation is. Ishmael Reed has been a critic of American society and a troublemaker for a long time. Reading his essays can be…
By Ron Cohen What is the nature of the human heart? Does it have memory, emotion, conscience? Is it an extension of the soul, or the soul itself? Or is it only the engine of our physical being, an organ pumping blood to keep us alive? These are the questions Nilo Cruz plays with in…
Natalie Gold and Lois Smith by Arney Rosenblat Mary Frances has lived a reasonably good life, as lives go, she’s ninety years old and ready to die. Born to refugees fleeing the Armenian genocide, her last wish is to die peacefully at home surrounded by her family. Her dream,…
By Eugene Paul The power of the Einstein aura proves once again unending Is Albert Einstein never out of the sphere of public awe, interest, challenge? Simultaneously with an heightened worldwide race to develop AI –artificial intelligence –all harkening back to the great man himself, is expanded interest in Einstein, the…
Francois Battiste, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Keith Randolph Smith , Kristolyn Lloyd by Arney Rosenblat Dominique Morisseau once again captures the soulful music of alienation, frustration and yearning of individuals sidelined by life into the role of second class citizens, though these refrains lack the raw gripping power of her other Detroit Trilogy plays…
by Edward Medina As the sun set on yet another day when a gunman opened fire in a school on American soil the company of There’s Blood at the Wedding began their performance at La Mama ETC’s Ellen Stewart Theatre. Death by gunfire has become so pervasive in our society that these…
David Zayas Photo © David Zayas Jr. by Edward Medina Chemistry is key in any play detailing the perils and pitfalls of human relations and relationships. There must be a synergy of character, style, and purpose to make all our foibles seem real and viable in a dramatic form. Devil of Choice is a…
Pamela J. Gray & Stephanie Roth Haberle photos by Carol Rosegg By Ron Cohen Deathbed dramas with expiring ladies seem to be thing this spring. Right on the heels of the superb revival of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Woman comes the brilliant Woman and Scarecrow by Marina Carr, being given an exhilarating production…