Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Caroline Grogran (Photo: Ashley Garrett) Arcadia By Fern Siegel Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia is a lively meditation on the importance of “wanting to know” how the world operates – from carnal to artistic pleasures. The British playwright is famous for creating plays of intellectual vigor, and Arcadia, now off-Broadway at the West End Theater,…
John Turturro (Photo: Monique Carboni) Sabbath’s Theater Reviewed by David Schultz The first thing you hear as the lights dim are a couple in the throes of ecstatic sex. The final image at the end of this one act play is seeing 64-year-old Mickey Sabbath (John Turturro) naked as a jaybird swathed in…
Raffi Barsoumian and Mary Wiseman (Photo: Carol Rosegg) Translations By Fern Siegel British rule in Ireland has been long and contentious, and Ireland did not become a fully independent nation until 1949. But the colonial legacy left by its former rulers was pronounced, especially in the context of language. That point underscores…
Patrick Page (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain By Deirdre Donovan Those theatergoers who are searching for a show that is both intellectually stimulating and incredibly entertaining need look no further than All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain. Written and performed by Broadway…
Gene Gillette, Sara Haider, Joshua Echebiri (Photo: Todd Cerveris Photography) Partnership Reviewed by Marc Miller The Mint Theater Company appears unable to make up its mind these days: Theater Row or City Center? Theater Row or City Center? Its latest revival, Elizabeth Baker’s Partnership, switches back to Theater Row, but what never changes…
Alexis Fishman (Photo: Richard Rivera) Anne Being Frank Reviewed by Julia Polinsky The Diary of Anne Frank: who has not heard of it? Who doesn’t know the story of the hidden Jewish girl who memorably thought that people were good at heart, yet died in Bergen-Belsen? Who has not wondered what might have been? Well,…
Mary Beth Fisher and Bubba Weiler. (Photo: Liz Lauren) Swing State By Fern Siegel Sad, lonely, desperate people provide ample fodder for drama. That’s true for Swing State, now off-Broadway at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre. Its four-person cast populates a small town in Wisconsin, where playwright Rebecca Gilman examines the tensions and traumas…
Christina Kirk (Photo: Ahron R Foster) Infinite Life By David Schultz The sold-out run of Annie Baker’s latest is once again a polarizing experience for audiences. All her usual signature touchstones are on display. As director James Macdonald noted in a recent interview, “She’s a high priestess of silence and stillness.” He’s in tune…
Jeffrey Bean, Andrea Syglowski, Triney Sandoval (Photo: Justin Swader) Dig Reviewed by Julia Polinsky Is Theresa Rebeck’s new play, Dig, a terrific character study of troubled people, asking if anyone is beyond saving? A heart-rending meditation on truth and honesty? Is it “…tragical-comical-historical-pastoral?” Yes, and yes, and yes, and quite, quite wonderful. Under…
Christiana Clark and the cast of Flex (Photo: Marc J. Franklin) Flex By Julia Polinsky In Candrice Jones’s marvelous Flex, on the stage at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse theater, it’s 1997. The WNBA has just become a reality. Five teenage girls in Plainnole, Arkansas, are drilling, passing, shooting baskets. Sharpen your senses;…