Billington's assault on absurdism

Absurdism isn't relevant? Don't be absurd!

Abdurdism, a European artistic response to the senseless horrors of World War II, has lost its relevance, according to critic Michael Billington. Yet from Greece to the Tea Party to the Occupy movement, millions of people today wander in aimless stupor like the hoboes in Beckett's Waiting For Godot.

Jim Rutter

Dec 31, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Vaclav Havel's legacy (2nd commentary)

David had his slingshot, Havel had his pen

As a human rights activist who helped overthrow Communism, Vaclav Havel's political legacy seems assured. But the question remains: What is this playwright's dramatic legacy?

Carol Rocamora

Dec 27, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Vaclav Havel's legacy (1st commentary)

Where do people go? Reflections on Václav Havel's Leaving

Who was the late Czech playwright/politician Vaclav Havel, and what was he trying to tell us? His message is both singular and universal: We have our leaving, our coming, our being and dying; we are in part witnesses, actors, and dramaturges.

Martin Beck Matustik

Dec 25, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Theatre Horizon's "Voices of Christmas'

Just like the ones I used to know

Unlike most story-driven musicals of this season, Voices of Christmas is a casual cabaret evening of songs and personal stories: low-key, introspective, nostalgic, reminiscent. Inevitably I found my thoughts turning to bygone people and things that once gave me great personal pleasure.

Steve Cohen

Dec 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Titus' in New York, "Carnage' on screen

All the world's an abattoir

Five centuries apart, Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Yazmina Reza's Carnage wallow in violence that's so outrageous it's actually entertaining. If you think you've never contemplated eating the entrails of yours sons, these and similar works will cure you of your illusions.

Carol Rocamora

Dec 20, 2011 · Articles · 6 minute read

"Jersey Boys' at the Forrest

One jukebox musical worth seeing

Jersey Boys, based on the career of the Four Seasons, has succeeded where other so-called jukebox musicals have failed. Let's consider why.

Steve Cohen

Dec 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Coward's "Private Lives' at the Lantern (2nd review)

Who's afraid of Noël Coward?

Unlike Edward Albee, who heaped pity and abuse on two dysfunctional married couples, Noël Coward's Private Lives pokes fun at them— and at us for judging them.

Jackie Schifalacqua

Dec 17, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Coward's "Private Lives' at the Lantern (1st review)

How to revive Noël Coward

Noël Coward worried endlessly whether his works would endure. The Lantern Theater's current production of Private Lives suggests one answer: The only way to prove that an old play continues to breathe is to revive it as an unforgettable theater experience.

Marshall A. Ledger

Dec 17, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Krapp's Last Tape' in Brooklyn

Beckett without bitterness

In 55 fleeting minutes, Samuel Beckett and John Hurt give us an icy blast of raging age with the same ferocity and velocity that Shakespeare provides in his full-length play King Lear— with one critical difference.

Carol Rocamora

Dec 13, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Bonnie & Clyde' on Broadway

Haves vs. have-nots

Unlike the original film version, the new musical Bonnie & Clyde refuses to glamorize its bank-robbing lovers. Instead it focuses on the gritty realities of the Great depression, with hummable music that evokes the 1930s.

Steve Cohen

Dec 13, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read