Theatre
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Venus in Fur in San Diego
Whipping Up David Ives Play
By: - Nov 24th, 2013Playwright David Ives’ play “Venus in Furâ€, is scheduled to become the most produced play in America during 2013-2014 according to American Theatre magazine that keeps track of such things. Caroline Kinsolving and Jeffrey Meek star in the San Diego Repertory Theatre production though December 8.
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Huntington's Cocktail Hour Stirs Family Strife
A.R. Gurney Recalls WASP Family Bad Manners and Memories
By: - Nov 22nd, 2013The evening ritual of the upper middle class cocktail hour is used as the vehicle to virtually shake not stir the superficial, unflappable demeanor of cold WASP parents. Set in his parents' elegant home, John announces that he has written a play about them, and their calm demeanor dissolves. As the martinis flow, so do the revelations and recriminations, in this personal comedy of manners about ties that unravel with a couple of wonderful characterizations and witty words.
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The Normal Heart Beats at Chicago's Timeline
Larry Kramer's Play is Timeless
By: - Nov 18th, 2013Willful blindness is part of the human condition. We refuse to see what we see perfectly clearly. In the early phases of the AIDs epidemic, a few strident voices insisted on being heard. Lives were saved, but more would have been if eyes had not been wide shut.
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Émilie La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight
WAM Production of Lauren Gunderson Play
By: - Nov 17th, 2013The approach of this WAM production of Émilie La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson has the twist of "Let us now praise not so famous women and trash men." The guy in this case is no less than Voltaire, her lover and collaborator, portrayed as a clown and misogynist. PC aside this is an enjoyable evening of theatre on the Mark St. Germain Stage in Pittsfield through November 24.
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The Pride By Alexi Kaye Campbell
London Revival of 2008 Award Winnng Gay Drama
By: - Nov 16th, 2013The lobby of the revival of the 2008 gay themed play The Pride is plastered with pull quotes from five star reviews. The play has also won a ton of awards. On the strength of that lavish praise was saw this London play. It proved to be more disappointing than bad. The audience, however, often responded to humor and poignancy that eluded me.
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Matilda Soars in London's West End
Olivier and Tony Winning Musical Also on Broadway
By: - Nov 15th, 2013Having won a remarkable seven Olivier Awards the musical Matilda was restaged in New York. There it won a modest four Tonys. It is the current toast of Broadway. Surrounded by kids of all ages we caught a Saturday matinee in London's West End. Rarely have we been more delighted.
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38th Humana Festival of New American Plays
Actors Theatre of Louisville February 26–April 6
By: - Nov 14th, 2013The Humana Festival of New American Plays is now in its 38th year. The American Theatre Critics Association will meet and participate in the Lousiville, Kentucky event.
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Shakespeare and Elizabeth I: The Reality Show
Theater for the New City Nov. 29 to Dec. 15
By: - Nov 14th, 2013Theater for the New City presents Phoebe Legere's "Shakespeare and Elizabeth I: The Reality Show," a very funny musical about love, war, espionage and creative genius. The play, directed by Zen Mansley, portrays the courtiers, scientists, artists, intellectuals, poets and ladies of Elizabeth's Court. The theatre is located at 155 First Ave., at E. 10th Street in New York City.
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George Brant's Grounded
NY Premiere at Page 73 Productions
By: - Nov 14th, 2013Page 73 Productions, now in its 16th year premiering the next generation of American playwrights – who have included Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes, Drama Desk Award winner Sam Hunter, New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award recipient Dan LeFranc, and more – will present the New York premiere of George Brant’s gripping new play GROUNDED, directed by two-time Obie Award-winning director Ken Rus Schmoll (TELEPHONE, A MAP OF VIRTUE) and starring Hannah Cabell (3C, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS opposite Frank Langella). Previews begin on January 8 at Walkerspace (46 Walker Street) in Manhattan.
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Best Play in London’s West End Reopensin June
By: - Nov 14th, 2013With rave reviews and multiple awards, including seven Oliviers (the British equivalenbt of Tonys), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime may be the most original, galvanic and influential play of this century on either side of the pond. The only real question is when this magnificent production, the hottest ticket in London, will make its way to Broadway. Until then hop a plane.
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Tina Packer to Direct Henry VIII
The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University
By: - Nov 13th, 2013The founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, Tina Packer, will direct the Bard's rarely presented Henry VIII for Actor's Shakespeare Project. It was run in Boston at The Modern Theatre of Suffolk University from December 11 through January 5.
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Albee's At Home at the Zoo
Acting Up Production in Indianapolis
By: - Nov 12th, 2013Any production of an Edward Albee play is a cause for celebration. Years later he added a second act to the brief Zoo Story. Acting Up in Indianapolis presented the expanded At Home In the Zoo. As one may imagine it's a tough play with adult content and strong language.
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Maria Callas Evoked in Master Class
At CVREP in Rancho Mirage
By: - Nov 11th, 2013“Master Classâ€, is the 2013-14 CV Rep’s season opener and is the first production in three seasons that has more than two actors in the cast. The highly successful Rancho Mirage professional theatre in California, now beginning its third season ups the ante with this production in that it features six actors.
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A Brecht Twofer in Dublin and London
Threepenny Opera and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
By: - Nov 11th, 2013This past summer Shakespeare & Comoany staged Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children starring Olympia Dukakis with John Douglas Thompson as the Cook. This led to a dialogue with Thompson exploring the play and the concept of Epic Theatre. Here we consider two more productions. At the Gate Theatre in Dublin the musical with Kurt Weill The Threepenny Opera. And in London's West End The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.
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The Hanging Gardens by Frank McGuiness
World Premiere at the Abbey Theatre Dublin
By: - Nov 10th, 2013For our first visit to the 110 -year-old Abbey Theatre in Dublin we enjoyed an intense and poignant family drama The Hanging Gardens by Frank McGuiness. Having enjoyed its world premiere in Ireland it is an engaging drama that would play well as a staple of American regional theatre.
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Mouse Trap Mystifies
At Arthur Newman Theatre, in Palm Desert, California.
By: - Nov 09th, 2013The play written by Agatha Christie, which opened in November of 1952, is billed as the longest, continuously running play in theatre history. If I do the math correctly that’s sixty-one years. That’s a lot of performances.
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Smokefall at the Goodman Theatre
Provocative Descendant of Our Town
By: - Nov 05th, 2013Noah Haidle’s play Smokefall is a provocative Midwestern take on "Our Town." Punctuated with apt and engaging humor at every step of the way, it is a drama that is at times startling as well as poignant. Mike Nussbaum is a standout as the Colonel, the grandpater famiilas in Act I. He is losing his mind, but not so much so that he can’t remember having sex four times a day with his late wife Lenore. He often walks to the graveyard to celebrate the good times of yore. Mixing language from PBS programs and a good amount of birthing pain, the playwright gets our attention.
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Kurt Vonnegut's Make Up Your Mind
World Premiere of Clever Comedy At SpeakEasy
By: - Nov 05th, 2013Kurt Vonnegut was an American original. This new play by Vonnegut and assembled by writer Nicky Silver touches a bit of ourselves. Like Vonnegut's other work it borders between farce and absurdism punctuated by wit, humor and at times empathy. With wonderful sets and terrific performances, this is about making and not making decisions, good, bad and life changing. Written in a time of self-help and lifestyle gurus and groupings, it questions the notion of "expert" therapy and the ramifications of not following strict adherence. Like all of Vonnegut's works, humor and humanity win out.
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Goodman Theatre Sings Pullman Porter Blues
Cheryl L. West's Brilliant Play is Soulful and Brimful of Pleasure
By: - Oct 27th, 2013Pullman Porter Blues is richly textured entertainment. The show is comprised of a narrative orchestrated by twelve songs appropriately plucked from the blues literature, with a little barbershop intermixed, thread through the show. The emotional arc is clear from the start. ‘Women don’t take no shit.†Men have to learn how to follow suit. Set in the 1930s, it is focused on three generations of the Sykes family who work together as Pullman Porters. Here Blues and train travel intermingle to establish a special time and place.
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The Power of Duff Powerful at Calderwood
Playwright Stephen Belber Brings A New Voice to Theatre
By: - Oct 24th, 2013With often insightful humor and very human observations, Playwright Stephen Belber has added a new perspective to contemporary theatre. This very skillful play is set around the odd actions of burnt-out local TV newscaster Charlie Duff when he suddenly starts to offer a personal prayer at the end of his nightly broadcasts. Almost instantly he becomes a popular and controversial figure. But even as his prayers inspire millions, the anchorman wrestles with his own beliefs and his inability to sustain familial connections. This is a brilliant nearly mythic story with very personal concrete consequences.
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The Iliad at Indiana Repertory Theatre
Henry Woronicz in a Tour-de-force Performance
By: - Oct 22nd, 2013The Indiana Repertory Theatre's production of The Iliad, a one man show with with Henry Woronicz, is mesmerizing in its complexity, maintaining a comedic edge despite the serious material. Using Robert Fagles’ translation of Homer’s original work playwrights Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare create a completely new play. It runs through November 16.
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Water By The Spoonful Poignant At LyricStage
Forming A Family From Needy and Troubled Souls
By: - Oct 21st, 2013Water by the Spoonful is the beautifully written and performed Pulitzer Prize winning play by Quira Alegria Hudes. It is a visual and verbal montage of lives in crisis. Seemingly unrelated characters search for connection in a difficult world. They are looking for hope from their newly found family. Their troubled souls look for and try to find connection and redemption. This wonderful drama embraces great empathy and humor as well as a bit of hope.
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Will Any Gentlemen to October 27
College of the Desert’s Theatre
By: - Oct 21st, 2013Tres Dean, the director of “Will Any Gentlemen?â€, currently on the boards at College of the Desert’s Theatre Too stage, and the creative engine that runs the Theatre Department, is racking up credits and points as the desert’s go to guy for British farce.
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The Last Goodbye at Old Globe
Originated at Williamstown Theatre Festival
By: - Oct 17th, 2013The Last Goodbye,†now at the Old Globe, had its world premiere at the 2010 Williamstown Theatre Festival, and since then has been a work in progress undergoing one “musical autopsy†after another in an effort to ensure that the work will find a friendly regional theatre stage to call home for awhile. It is set to the music of the late Tim Buckley. The production runs to November 3.
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis to October 20
By: - Oct 16th, 2013The 2013 Tony winning Best Play "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" is running at Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis through October 20. The title is a mouthful, but the play itself is a delight.
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