Solea Pfeiffer, Mykal Kilgore, Shoshana Bean, Colin Donnell by Julia Polinsky Jason Robert Brown made a name for himself with Songs for a New World, back in the day. It was an off-Broadway moment as they were crafted in the 90s: a collection of Rent-like music, put together by a talented, energetic…
Jeremy Beck, Jessie Shelton and Henry Clarke Photos by Todd Cerveris By Marc Miller If you know the name Miles Malleson at all, it’s probably from the sublime 1952 film of The Importance of Being Earnest. There, in the fast company of such lights as Michael Redgrave, Edith Evans, and Margaret Rutherford, Malleson’s…
by Deirdre Donovan Following a season with so many musicals suffering from elephantitis, the musical Lonesome Blues is refreshingly intimate. An homage to the legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, it breezed into the York Theatre on June 12th and will sojourn there for a brief run. Co-written by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatunde and…
L-R: Warren Kelley, John Long, Phil Gillen, Rachel Botchan. Photo by Hunter Canning / @huntercanning. By Eugene Paul If you’re a theatergoer who, some time ago, discovered the cornucopia of offerings on Theatre Row, you’ve probably use the internet to find out what’s playing. I’m going to make you nervous. Even though…
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…
Rick Holmes, Jordan Lage, Meredith Forlenza, Kristen Bush, Laura Kai Chen By Ron Cohen Both the haves and the have-nots get their knocks in Anthony Giardina’s Dan Cody’s Yacht, a relentless examination of the crossroads of education and affluence. It’s a serious and pertinent theme, and Giardina, a well-practiced playwright (The City of…
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…
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…
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,…
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…