Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris'

Name-dropping at midnight: Woody Allen explores the past (again)

What's so romantic about Paris? Don't look for answers in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. What Gertrude Stein said about Oakland also holds true for Woody Allen's lost Paris of the 1920s: There's no there there.

Dan Rottenberg

Jul 11, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

Braly's "Life in a Marital Institution'

Take his marriage, please

“Would you be married to this woman?” James Braly moans about his wife in this monologue on marriage. Better you should ask: Would anyone be married to him?

Jackie Schifalacqua

Jul 10, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Urbanism' at Pennsylvania Academy

The city we inhabit (but never saw)

Five young artists capture the staccato urban beat and constant motion that all city dwellers experience but seldom confront.

Anne R. Fabbri

Jul 09, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Pirates of Penzance' in Oregon

Hoisting the Victorians, Oregon-style

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in its 76th year, has discovered new territory: Gilbert and Sullivan. In The Pirates of Penzance, the Festival demonstrates that lampooning Victorian assumptions remains as relevant as ever.

Marshall A. Ledger

Jul 05, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Sondheim's "Company' in HD-live

Company finds its medium

When Company opened in 1970, Stephen Sondheim couldn't have foretold the advent of high-definition video on huge screens. Yet that's the ideal medium for a Broadway musical that essentially takes place inside people's minds.

Steve Cohen

Jul 05, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Cuba's "Revolutionary Project' at the Getty in LA

Cuba's century of disillusion

“A Revolutionary Project” displays Cuban history from three vantage points: colonial exploitation, revolutionary euphoria and a depleted present, in which the country waits for its new Wall Street conquistadors. The photographic record is extraordinary, and the historical prospect tragic.

Robert Zaller

Jul 02, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

"Spider-Man' on Broadway (2nd review)

Not just another action hero

Those spectacular flying scenes aren't all there is to Spider-Man. The musical offers a vulnerable human hero as well.

Steve Cohen

Jul 02, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Spider-Man' on Broadway (1st review)

When producers fly

The musical score may be forgettable, the book may be pedestrian, and the atmosphere in the theater is a hybrid between a circus and Disneyworld. But oh, those flying Spider-Men”¦.

Carol Rocamora

Jul 02, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Rebeck's "The Understudy' in Cape May

Rebeck plays Peoria

Theater people gobble up the razor-sharp backstage backstabbing of Theresa Rebeck's The Understudy. But in Cape May her best lines fell flat. The Understudy. By Theresa Rebeck; directed by Roy Steinberg. Through July 30, 2011 at Cape May Stage, Robert Shackleton Playhouse, Bank and Lafayette Streets, Cape May, N.J. (609) 884-1341 or www.capemaystage.com.

Jackie Schifalacqua

Jul 02, 2011 · Articles · 1 minute read

Andrew Rudin's 40-year retrospective

Grand old man of new music

The new music composer Andrew Rudin has accumulated an impressive body of work for more than 40 years— not by imitating old masters, but achieving the same impact in his own way.

Tom Purdom

Jul 02, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read