Theater
2688 results
Page 182
Sondheim's "A Little Night Music' at the Arden (2nd review)
A Broadway musical, or a period piece?
An excellent Arden production brings out the best of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music— specifically, his music and lyrics. But the play's theme of marital dalliance is growing tired.
Articles
3 minute read
"Barcelona' at People's Light: Americans abroad, again
Lost in translation
Bess Wohl's Barcelona provides juicy roles for two talented actors but little new insight into the cultural divide between Europeans and Americans
Articles
2 minute read
EgoPo's "Uncle Tom's Cabin' at Plays and Players (1st review)
Who was Eliza Harris?
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a revolutionary novel that effectively dramatized the inhuman horror of slavery. Its later stage adaptations reinforced the demeaning racial stereotypes that the novel hoped to erase. But there's a third way to look at Uncle Tom's Cabin: As an account of real historical events.
Articles
8 minute read
Stoppard's "Heroes' at the Lantern (3rd comment)
Is old age really so dreadful?
Plays like Heroes are based on the common assumption that nobody really wants to live in a retirement home. The less theatrical reality I've observed— at a real Christian home full of real veterans— is that old folks are very capable of living happily in the moment.
Articles
5 minute read
Sondheim's "A Little Night Music' at the Arden (1st review)
Isn't it rich?
Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music rises or falls with its leading lady, Desiree Armfeldt. In the Arden's current production, the graceful and alluring Grace Gonglewski is more than up to the task.
Articles
5 minute read
"Lend Me a Tenor' in Ambler
The show must go on
Lend Me a Tenor is one of the best-constructed farces ever written by an American, but its intricacies present a challenge to actors and directors. The current production at Act II Playhouse does justice to Ken Ludwig's backstage comedy and even expands on its opportunities.
Articles
3 minute read
Alan Cumming does "Macbeth' on Broadway
The ultimate modern man: A paranoid delusional Macbeth
This insightful conception sets Macbeth in a mental hospital, with a single patient— the remarkable Alan Cumming— playing all the roles. His Macbeth comes across as a modern man driven mad by his inability to cope in a frightening, out-of-control world.
Articles
6 minute read
David Ives's "Venus In Fur' at Philadelphia Theatre Co, (2nd review)
I am woman, hear me roar
Do women's liberation and sadomasochism go hand in hand? The father of S & M thought so, but what do men know about women? In David Ives's Venus in Fur, a modern-day wonder woman bites back.
Articles
6 minute read
David Ives's "Venus In Fur' at Philadelphia Theatre Co. (1st review)
Man smart, woman smarter, or: Aphrodite rides again
David Ives's Venus In Fur is an intense, perceptive, provocative, often very funny, sometimes brilliant one-act comedy-drama by an incisive playwright who perceives the dance of seduction between the sexes as the ultimate dramatic conflict. But its process is more important than its product.
Articles
5 minute read
"Spring Awakening' in Norristown
The difficult years
Frank Wedekind's gripping 1891 drama of adolescents coping with a repressive society and unsupportive parents seemed an unlikely idea for a Broadway musical. Horizon's production has gone a long way toward salvaging it.
Articles
2 minute read