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,…
Ji by Julia Polinsky Where does passion live, in the head, the heart, or the art? In Tchaikovsky: None But The Lonely Heart, the Ensemble for the Romantic Century takes a beautiful look at Tchaikovsky’s music and his deepest relationships, his passion and, yes, his loneliness. The Ensemble for the Romantic Century…
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…
by Edward Medina Dante Alighieri’s epic 14th century poem The Divine Comedy is very much alive and swell at the Laurie Beechman Theatre and embodied in the luscious and multitalented form of television star and theatrical siren BenDeLaCreme. No worries though. This is not a dark and morose Hell. This is more…
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…
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…
Condola Rashad photos by Joan Marcus by Deirdre Donovan George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan is a comedy, tragedy and romance wrapped into one powerful drama. Over the years, it has been staged in strikingly different ways from the raucous to the subdued. As the Manhattan Theatre Club presents it (at the Samuel J. Friedman…