by Eugene Paul Theatrical deity Eugene O’Neill, whose masterworks continue to astound and gratify audiences around the globe, reached Broadway in 1920 with Beyond The Horizon, the first of his four Pulitzer prize plays. He was thirty-two. Steeped in theater, he had learned his craft from his parents, famous, self-burdened actors, at the…
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…
Photos by Joan Marcus Reviewed by Eugene Paul They were the most successful religious community in the country. In addition to their farming properties and industries, their stunningly simple esthetic continues to affect millions with its beauty. At their peak, they numbered 5,000. Today, there are six. These are the Shakers, more properly, the…
Erin McCracken as Patsy Cline Photos by John Vecchiolla By Ed Lieberman The Westchester Broadway Theatre’s latest production is Always . . .Patsy Cline, a tribute to the famous country singer, whose life was tragically cut short in a plane crash in 1963, at the age of 30. Cline, who was the first woman…
Kellie Overbey, Emily Walton, Beatrice Tulchin, and Shannon Harrington Photo: Richard Termine. By Marc Miller The title Women Without Men evokes one of those 1950s women’s-prison melodramas, where Hope Emerson terrorizes Eleanor Parker or Ida Lupino bats Phyllis Thaxter around, while Agnes Moorehead or Howard Duff look helplessly on. Hazel Ellis’s 1938 drama, as…
Richard Johnson photo by Farnaz Taherimotlagh. Pappy on da Underground Railroad R. Pikser The Gene Frankel Theater is what used to be called a black box. A few seats, minimal performance space, a piano, and good lighting in what used to be an inexpensive part of town, allowed performers to hone their…
Len Cariou photos by Caro Rosegg By Julia Polinsky With Broadway and the Bard, Len Cariou, Mark Janas, and Barry Kleinbort, (who also directed) have conceived an evening of show tunes married to Shakespeare’s poetry. Janas, whose masterful accompaniments contribute hugely to Broadway and the Bard, plays a beautiful intro. Then, Cariou declaims…
Hilly Bodin as Snow White and Courtney Giannone as The Prince By Edward Rubin The ad campaign for Company XIV’s production of Snow White at the Minetta Lane Theatre inspired by the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale that we all grew up knowing – is being sold as an adult version of the folk tale, reflected…
EMMA MEAD by Julia Polinsky Once the Hollywood machine gets hold of something like the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, or, in this case, the Oz books, it’s easy for us to forget how dark children’s stories are. How they come from spaces of loss and fear. Tales of orphaned or abandoned…
By Eugene Paul As measured by the money meter, a palpable hit. “Who’s that?” my companion whispered, nudging sideways with her chin as the gorgeous, gorgeous creature squeezed by smiling apologetically. I nodded. “Yes, it is. And look over there.” She slid her eyes four seats over. Her eyebrows went up. I nodded, then…