'Rasheeda Speaking' at the New Group

“You need to be careful”

Actress Cynthia Nixon makes her directorial debut with impressive skill and control. The threat of violence hangs on the air from the moment the play begins, and Nixon keeps her foot on the pedal as the conflict escalates to a shocking, unbearably painful final scene.

Carol Rocamora

Feb 24, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

'The Cherry Orchard' at People's Light

The times they are a-changin'

Oscar-nominated actors Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn join the People's Light & Theatre Company ensemble in a fine production of Chekhov's Cherry Orchard.

Bill Murphy

Feb 24, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

'Into the Woods' at Theatre Horizon

A gathering around a campfire

Into the Woods is Stephen Sondheim’s most complicated musical — so intricate that major theater companies have trouble fitting the parts together. So it’s amazing to see the small Theatre Horizon pull it off successfully with an innovative approach that’s more imaginative than any I've seen.

Steve Cohen

Feb 17, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

Tennessee Williams's 'Stairs to the Roof' (second review)

Is drama meant to be taken seriously?

What happens when you treat a dramatic play as farce? Lane Savadove’s production of an early Tennessee Williams play makes you wonder how other great playwrights would fare under his whimsical direction.

Naomi Orwin

Feb 17, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Tennessee Williams’s ‘Stairs to the Roof’

Before Williams was Williams

Stairs to the Roof is early Tennessee Williams as you’ve never seen him — a wacky, surrealistic farce. Director Lane Savadove’s stylized physical movements manage to transform a simplistic script into sparkling entertainment.

Steve Cohen

Feb 16, 2015 · Articles · 2 minute read

Terrence McNally’s ‘Mothers and Sons’ at PTC (second review)

Fathers Know Best?

While the predictable, albeit slow, ascendancy of the mother’s acceptance of the situation seems to be the main thrust of the play, we also get a cinemascope review of the entire LGBT movement. For the straight person who doesn’t know much about gay history, this 101 overview might serve as the perfect seminar.

Thom Nickels

Feb 13, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Terrence McNally’s ‘Mothers and Sons’ at PTC (first review)

Elephants in the room

Terrence McNally’s noble attempt to recognize the forgotten victims of the 1980s AIDS crisis is undermined by a shallow dramatic conflict.

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 12, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

Albee's 'A Delicate Balance' in New York

Dwelling in “the dark sadness”

No matter how dark an Albee play gets, there’s always the hope — however faint — that love will save the day, if only we are capable of it.

Carol Rocamora

Feb 10, 2015 · Articles · 5 minute read

'Under the Skin' at the Arden

What do we owe each other?

Which organ is more important, the kidney that cleanses our bodies of toxins or the heart, considered symbolically as the organ that connects us emotionally to each other? And would we really give up a part of ourselves to keep someone else alive?

Naomi Orwin

Feb 06, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Tom Stoppard's 'The Hard Problem' at London's National Theatre

Solving a hard problem

In his first new work in almost a decade, Stoppard offers a 90-minute jewel that, in the tradition of theater of ideas, will challenge you to think as well as feel.

Carol Rocamora

Feb 03, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read