Michael Hollinger’s ‘Red Herring’ at Villanova

In case you missed the ’50s

Michael Hollinger’s Red Herring cleverly juggles a spy drama, romance, a spoof of film noir and a critique of American politics in the ’50s.

Steve Cohen

Oct 17, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Royal National Theatre’s new ‘Othello’

Iraq and Afghanistan, anyone? Or: Othello, Iago and the culture of war

Nicholas Hytner’s new London production of Othello resonates richly in new ideas and insights into Shakespeare’s tragedy. Here the intriguing emphasis is on what military culture does to men and women alike.

Carol Rocamora

Oct 15, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

‘Bunny Bunny’: The real Gilda Radner (2nd review)

Gilda Radner confronts the darkness

In Bunny Bunny, Alan Zweibel has written a love poem about his allegedly unconsummated love for Gilda Radner. The title is an incantation that the TV comedienne recited as a child to protect her from the dark. The play tries to protect the audience in much the same way.

Naomi Orwin

Oct 15, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

‘Bunny Bunny’: The real Gilda Radner (1st review)

The Gilda we didn’t know, until now

This "sort-of romantic comedy" about the relationship between two pillars of “Saturday Night Live” is lately revived mostly for cancer awareness events. The current version dispenses with cheap laughs and gives us a deeply insecure— and consequently very human— Gilda Radner.

Steve Cohen

Oct 13, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Nudity as speech: ‘Arguendo’ in New York

Who says lawyers are dull?

Can Supreme Court transcripts and legal briefs— even about nude dancing— make exciting theater? Ask the cutting-edge Elevator Repair Service troupe, which thrives on bringing text on stage in uniquely improbable ways. In Arguendo, the result is a zany satire that’s simultaneously entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

Carol Rocamora

Oct 08, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

Gioia de Cari’s ‘Truth Values’ at Annenberg

Pity the woman with brains

Women continue to battle stereotypes to break into science and math. Gioia de Cari claims male chauvinism drove her out of MIT. But her one-woman show suggests that perhaps she really preferred a career on the stage.

Ilene Raymond Rush

Oct 06, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

‘Parade’ at the Arden

Leo Frank lives! (With a little help from Terrence Nolen)

Parade, the musical about the 1913 Leo Frank lynching was rightly considered a flawed work when it opened at Lincoln Center in 1998. Now Terrence Nolen and Jorge Cousineau have re-imagined it and added a radically new dimension that brings Frank’s tragic story to life as never before.

Steve Cohen

Oct 05, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Jane Austen's ‘Emma’ at the Lantern

Jane Austen’s 21st-Century problem

If you love Jane Austen, you’ll love the Lantern’s lovely adaptation of Emma. But if Austen’s novels were force-fed to you in high school, you might gag. In our age of instant gratification and short attention spans, therein lies a cultural challenge.

Alaina Johns

Oct 01, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Kafka’s ‘The Castle’ at FringeArts Festival

A Kafka who’s not Kafkaesque

Unlike Kafka’s The Trial, the protagonist in The Castle is no victim. He’s an ambitious fellow who might even be a stand-in for Kafka, or even the messiah. Or both.

Steve Cohen

Sep 28, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

The coming season: Awards or rewards?

Hooked on awards, or: What ever happened to word of mouth?

In today’s risk-averse theater climate, every new play or musical in the coming Philadelphia season boasts some sort of pedigree or award. Which raises an interesting question: Is there any play, playwright, actor or director on the planet who hasn’t won an award?

Naomi Orwin

Sep 24, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read