Theater
2688 results
Page 226
Early O'Neill and Williams, together in London
Spring awakening: Young O'Neill/Young Williams
The British director Laurie Sampson had the brilliant idea of pairing the earliest full-length efforts of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams, and directing, cross-casting and producing them in repertory with a unifying set. The effort reveals many intriguing common characteristics”“ as well as the debt that Williams clearly owed to O'Neill.
Articles
8 minute read
"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' at the Arden
The perils of appeasement
Arden Theatre's adaptation of Jody Davidson's tale about a boy who attempts to appease an incorrigible mouse is a non-stop delight for all ages, laced with gags inspired by the Marx Brothers, Martin and Lewis and Good Dog Carl.
Articles
1 minute read
Megan Gogerty's "Love Jerry'
Pedophilia: the musical
Megan Gogerty's fatuous and one-sided Love Jerry sympathizes with the struggles of a child abuse perpetrator while ignoring his victim's suffering altogether. And would you believe it's a musical?
Articles
3 minute read
"Sunday in the Park' at the Arden (2nd review)
Sondheim's problem, solved by Nolen
The two acts of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park With George have never been as perfectly balanced as they are in Terrence Nolen's new production. Because this is a show about an artist's quest for balance, that's the ultimate compliment.
Articles
5 minute read
"Sunday in the Park' at the Arden (1st review)
Connecting the dots
The Arden's production of Sondheim's musical paean to Impressionism pulls out all the stops, with a 15-piece orchestra, sophisticated sound and light effects and a first-rate cast that steps in and out of Seurat's painting while giving voice to Sondheim's brilliant lyrics.
Articles
4 minute read
Stage adaptations: a British foursome
Juliet in sneakers? Adaptation season in England
How do you revitalize the plays of the past, when the author is no longer around to protest? British theater is addressing this issue in four provocative productions this spring.
Articles
8 minute read
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The meaning of Havel's "Leaving' (4th review)
Art, politics and humanity: Václav Havel, in theory and practice
Some critics have attacked Vaclav Havel's Leaving for ridiculing his own heroic political career. On the contrary, Havel is deeply concerned about what it means to be human in a globalized world. Leaving is his critique of uncritical language and careless thinking that allow scoundrels to leap into the void.
Articles
7 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (3rd review)
We needed you. Now leave.
Like Moses, Vaclav Havel led his people to the promised land, but it's his own fault if he couldn't follow them in. While this production soars, its valedictory message stammers— as I can attest, having lived in Prague in the wake of Havel's presidency.
Articles
5 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (2nd review)
Havel's confession of failure
Vaclav Havel's Leaving, the first play in 20 years by the playwright-president, is well served by a cast led by David Strathairn, and well produced under Jiri Zizka's energetic direction. But its importance lies less in its at-best fitful theatrical interest than as a testament of its author's profound disillusionment with his career—and with that of capitalist modernity in general.
Articles
6 minute read
"Fiddler On the Roof' at the Walnut
Anatevka reborn
The Walnut Street Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof is better than any I've seen, aside from the original Broadway staging that ran from 1964 to 1972.
Articles
3 minute read