Theater

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Page 200
If the Beatles had understudies....

"Rain': Beatles tribute at Academy of Music

Back to the ‘60s, one more time

When I first saw this tribute to the Beatles in 2008 I was bothered by its inconsistencies. Now I see that being many things to different people is what Rain is all about.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Hicks: Implicating the audience.

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (5th review)

Too harsh, or too tame?

The theatrical power of the minstrel show framing worked successfully on many levels in The Scottsboro Boys. My criticism with the minstrelsy device here is that it was often too tame, and the play didn't push it much further to heighten the impact of racism's destructiveness and inherent tragedy. The Scottsboro Boys. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by David Thompson; Susan Stroman's original direction and choreography recreated by Jeff Whiting. Philadelphia Theater Company production through February 19, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theater, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatercompany.org.

Articles 3 minute read
Lakis (left), Peakes: This time the black neighbors object.

"Clybourne Park' at the Arden (1st review)

Black and white, then and now

Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park is in some respects a sequel to A Raisin in the Sun, set in the same Chicago neighborhood 50 years later. But you don't need knowledge of that play to appreciate this excellent drama about how racial attitudes have changed over the past 50 years, and how they haven't.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 4 minute read
Riding the rails: An irrational fear that still persists.

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (4th review)

Scottsboro, we have a problem

What do the Scottsboro boys have in common with Sacco, Vanzetti, Alfred Dreyfus and Neil Ferber? All were innocent victims of the justice system— and none of them was nearly as interesting as the heroes and villains of their respective cases.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 6 minute read

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Nixon: Timeless woman-warrior.

Margaret Edson's "Wit' on Broadway

Triumph over cancer (with a little help from John Donne)

When a professor of metaphysical poetry encounters the ultimate metaphysical challenge, the result is a dazzling and unforgettably heroic struggle.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 4 minute read
Damron, Frey, Brennan: Unfulfilled, and never wondering why. (Photo: Arron J. Oster.)

Headland's "Bachelorette,' by Luna

Lost generation, still losing

At a pre-wedding party, three single women fast approaching 30 chase down their sour grapes with pot, pills, and champagne. Notwithstanding its lack of plot, Bachelorette scores some perceptive points about the “happiness gap” suffered by young professional women who lack traditional families.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 3 minute read
Colman Domingo (left), Forrest McClendon: Liberals lampooned, too. (Photo: Paul Kolnik.)

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (3rd review)

This time, the boys get a break

The Scottsboro Boys, a reminder of not so distant racial attitudes, deserves more exposure than it received on Broadway in 2010. In its focus on miscarriages of justice, it resembles Kander and Ebb's hit Chicago. But Scottsboro packs more substance.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 2 minute read
Spacey makes us his accomplices in murder and mayhem.

Kevin Spacey's "Richard III' in Brooklyn

Slithering to the throne

Anyone who complains about Kevin Spacey's larger-than-life, over-the-top performance as Richard III is just plain jealous. What makes Spacey's Richard so fascinating is the way he seduces the audience along with his amorous conquests onstage.

Carol Rocamora

Articles 5 minute read
Dancing all the way to the electric chair.

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (2nd review)

An idea that's off the rails

What's that you say? You can't get into snappy tap dances and rousing cakewalks about racism and lynching? Hey, where's your sense of humor?
Jackie Schifalacqua

Jackie Schifalacqua

Articles 2 minute read
Rodney Hicks (left), Forrest McClendon: Tell it like it really happened?

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (1st review)

The memory of injustice, or: Let's put on a (very different) show

This first-rate production of an ingenious musical appropriately recalls an American racial nightmare of the 1930s. Unfortunately, in its preoccupation with laughing at racism it overlooks or, worse, lampoons some of the real heroes of that Alabama tragedy.

Marshall A. Ledger

Articles 6 minute read