by Deirdre Donovan There’s nothing tame about Phyllida Lloyd’s new gender-bending production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Public’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park. With an all-female cast, Lloyd takes Shakespeare’s early comedy about love and marriage and jazzes it up with a beauty pageant. And with Janet McTeer and Cush Jumbo…
Michael Roulston and Dillie Keane. Photo by Carol Rosegg By Eugene Paul Cabaret queen Dillie Keane has been knocking them dead for 34 years in Britain and elsewhere ever since she invented her hit cabaret act, “Fascinating Aida”, the smash hit all girl group built around her ribald songs, words and music, based on the…
by Eugene Paul Alan Ayckbourn’s newest play, Hero’sWelcome, his 79th, in its premiere performance, is alternating in repertory with Confusions, Ayckbourn’s hit from forty years ago, during this, his sixth visit to 59E59 Theaters and I hope he makes it an even dozen visits. Or two dozen. Or more, now that he’s retired from…
Erin Beirnard and Kelly King photo: Svetlana Didorenko by Marc Miller While the Tyrones suffer familial accusations, mistrust, and destructive love in the wrenching revival of Long Day’s Journey into Night at the American Airlines Theatre, a Eugene O’Neill of a very different sort is on display at the Metropolitan Playhouse.O’Neill (Unexpected) consists of two early one-acts, Recklessness from 1913 andNow I…
by Michall Jeffers Sand, soulfulness, and summer love Yes, that’s real sand setting the tone for Indian Summer, the final production of the splendid Playwrights Horizons season. Waves are crashing on the beach as Daniel (Owen Campbell) tries to pass the time. He wears a plaid shirt, khaki shorts, and sneakers, and sports long,…
Matthew Broderick and Billy Carter photos Carol Rosegg By Ron Cohen Matthew Broderick brings laid-back charm and a beguiling Irish brogue to Conor McPherson’s drama, making it a rather friendly ghost story. Irish Repertory Theatre has captured some marquee power for the reopening of its handsomely renovated jewel box of a space:…
Maggie Lacey and John Douglas Thompson star in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (© Gerry Goodstein) by Deirdre Donovan What could be better than seeing a new stage production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House? Naturally, seeing it in tandem with Strindberg’s The Father. New York theatergoers now have a rare chance to catch…
Vanessa Aspillaga (Daphne) and Matthew Saldivar (Pablo) in Quiara Alegría Hudes’ new play Daphne’s Dive, directed by Thomas Kail, at the Pershing Square Signature Center. (© Joan Marcus) By Ron Cohen Daphne’s Dive, the North Philadelphia bar that serves as the main locale for the new comedy-drama by Quiara Alegría Hudes and also lends…
Reviewed By Eugene Paul In the wide embrace of Theater, the chronicle play has held its coveted, premier position for centuries, despite sudden flashes of brilliance by other modes that grab the main light. Producer Andrew M. Horn and director Joe Brancato, in their prime, start their thirty-ninth season longer in the…
Gabriel Ebert stars in Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, directed by John Doyle, at Classic Stage Company. (© Joan Marcus) By Ron Cohen Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt and actor Gabriel Ebert are a match made in heaven. Add director John Doyle to the mix, and the result – on view at Classic Stage Company — is…