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…
Dominique Thorne; Some Kakoma (Photo: Matthew Murphy) Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Reviewed by Julia Polinsky On a hot summer day in 2019, a pre-pandemic time that now feels almost unimaginably remote, a group of women gather in a hair braiding shop in Harlem, a salon as brightly hot-pink and lively as scenic…
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,…
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…
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…
Leslie Odom, Jr., Kara Young (Photo: Marc J. Franklin) Purlie Victorious A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch Reviewed by Julia Polinsky Director Kenny Leon and the company of Purlie Victorious have brought to vivid life this in-your-face revival of Ossie Davis’s sixty-year-old play. Written in 1961, a century after the Civil…
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…
Colin Donnell, Ian Shaw, Alex Brightman (Photo: Matthew Murphy) The Shark Is Broken By Fern Siegel The Shark Is Broken is a literal reference to the mechanical shark in Jaws, directed by a young Steven Spielberg. The play rests on a slim premise — three men in a boat — discussing life, art and…
Laura Bell Bundy, Eric McCormack (Photo: Joan Marcus) The Cottage By Fern Siegel “Take charge, you said,” Sylvia tells Beau, as she holds up a short, leather whip. “Context, darling.” The laugh line, which accompanies one of the many physical jokes in The Cottage, is delivered in an arch manner, befitting a sexual romp…