L-R: Michael Ray Wisely, Carrie Paff, Mark Anderson Phillips, and Ben Euphrat Photos by Carol Rosegg By Eugene Paul Bill English’s conference room setting is so apt we’re immediately persuaded to believe whatever happens. Scooter (Ben Euphrat) and Hannah (Carrie Paff) are prepping for a meeting. The friction between them is sending us…
Ray (Alex Breaux) swims a lap in the pool that scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez (© Joan Marcus) By Rachel Goddard The play begins with Ray, played by Alex Breaux (The Real Thing) swimming the length of a plexiglass-walled pool which covers the entire front portion of the stage, the creative innovation of set-designer,…
(L-R) Susannah Flood, George Demas, Kati Brazda and Carter Hudson in ‘The Effect’ Courtesy of Matthew Murphy by Deirdre Donovan Lucy Prebble’s provocative new play The Effect, is a brain-teaser with a heart. Superbly directed by David Cromer, and under the aegis of The National Theatre of Great Britain’s North American wing, it’s…
by Deirdre Donovan The Actors Theatre Company (TACT) and the Gingold Theatrical Group (GTG) join hands and mount George Bernard Shaw first play Widowers’ Houses. Under the direction of the GTG’s Artistic Director David Staller, this is a rare opportunity to see Shaw’s maiden play staged with meticulous care. The program’s cover neatly…
By Ron Cohen The Royale is a taut, sometimes harrowing depiction of racism in America circa 1900, which unfortunately still resonates powerfully today. It’s also inventive drama, directed with élan and acted with incandescent fury. As a program note tells us, Marco Ramirez’s play is based on the life of Jack Johnson,…
Patrick Noonan, Jordan Ahnquist photos by Carol Rosegg by Judd Hollander Genre-bending hilarity is assured at Shear Madness at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages. Based on the 1963 German play Scherenschnitt by Paul Pörtner, the show is making its very long-awaited New York debut. The play opened in Boston in 1980 – where it continues…
By Michall Jeffers Hey kids, let’s get together and put on a show! This is the spirit of “Disaster!” A large part of the entertainment is that the actors on stage are having so much fun; we get the idea that they’ve known each other and worked together for a long time. Adding to…
Sarah Killough and Ellen Adair photos by Colin Shepherd by Eugene Paul New plays, new theatre companies, continue to seek the limelight from one end of the country to the other, nowhere more generously than on New York City’s turf. Its name trailing martially bold Shakespearean allusions, the Happy Few Theatre Company, producers…
Ito Aghayere and Melanie Nicholls-King Photos by Joan Marcus By Michall Jeffers The United States is a nation of immigrants. The tug-of-war between assimilating and keeping tradition alive is indeed Familiar to many Americans. And what better way could this conflict come to a head than planning a wedding. Marvelous Chinyaramwira (Tamara Tunie) and her…
L-R: Matthew Russell (The Bard), Ryan McCurdy (Mercutio), Christine Verleny (Mistress Quickly), Mick Bleyer (Ben). Photo by Gerry Goodstein by Julia Polinsky Verona Walls, by the talented young playwright Laura Hirschberg, presents a back story for Romeo and Juliet. It focuses on Mercutio, whose tale of love and death plays out against a…