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…
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:…
by Eugene Paul Cirque du Soleil, the enchanting sidewalks of Quebec entertainers now grown into enchanting most of the globe with a staff of 4200 magicians, has launched a broadside at Broadway, regrettably shooting itself in the foot, not enough to kill it but hobbling it at what it does best: thrilling…
Kathy Biehl & Noah Diamond By Marc Miller Those who revere the Marx Brothers—there are still quite a few of us, thank you—have always been curious about I’ll Say She Is. The first Marx musical, written by no one you ever heard of (book and lyrics, Will B. Johnstone; music, Tom Johnstone), landed on…
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…
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…
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…
Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Jesse Tuck, Sarah Charles Lewis as Winnie Foster & Terrence Mann as Man in the Yellow Suit Reviewed by Eugene Paul In the best of all possible worlds, Tuck Everlasting should turn out to be a big, welcoming hit for everybody, especially families with children, playing forever at the welcoming…