Theater
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Brecht's 'Arturo Ui' in Delaware (1st review)
Brecht dissects Hitler (with a little help from Looney Tunes)
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht's 1941 Hitler parable set within a fictionalized Chicago underworld, is easily resistible. But once we hear the all-American “Looney Tunes” soundtrack of our childhood, our defenses are disarmed.
Articles
4 minute read
1812's "Evening Without Woody Allen'
Don't play it again, Woody
Woody Allen's published stories from the 1970s can make you laugh out loud. So why shouldn't acting them out before an audience produce the same effect? For several good reasons, actually.
Articles
3 minute read
Tracy Letts's "August: Osage County' on tour (2nd review)
Is this a comedy? Really?
The traveling cast played August: Osage County mostly as a comedy. But on Broadway, the cast expressed strong emotions when confronting suicide, addictions, infidelity, child molestation and incest. Wouldn't you, if this were your family?
Articles
3 minute read
"Shining City' post-mortem (4th review)
Shining City post-mortem: Of human redemption, right here on Earth
Conor McPherson's Shining City portrays a world of souls in torment. Why then the upbeat title? SaraKay Smullens, a family therapist, finds a message of hope in McPherson's desperation.
Articles
5 minute read
Lantern Theater's "Henry IV, Part I' (2nd review)
Shakespeare's royals, up close and personal
Lantern's Henry IV, Part I is well acted, but the most impressive thing about this production is the immediacy and the royalty of the set in such a small and intimate space.
Articles
3 minute read
Tracy Letts's "August: Osage County' on tour (1st review)
The family that preys together….
At a time when so many American plays build their plots around political and social issues, Tracy Letts's family free-for-all, August: Osage County, is a refreshing change of pace. And this touring cast is more realistic and consequently even more devastating than the original 2007 Broadway ensemble.
Articles
4 minute read
August Wilson's "Fences' in New York
The trouble with Denzel Washington
When a big movie star like Denzel Washington plays an often-unlikable character, the audience is determined to love the character regardless. So blame the audience for degrading August Wilson's complex Fences into a sit-com.
Articles
5 minute read
"American Idiot' on Broadway
Adolescence after 9/11 (but before Bernie Madoff)
Is American Idiot just another punk rock jukebox musical fouling the Great White Way? Or is it an earnest and even passionate attempt to recapture a moment a few years ago when the concept of “coming of age” changed irretrievably?
American Idiot. Musical based on the album by Green Day; Michael Mayer directed. St. James Theatre, 244 West 46th St., New York. (800) 432-7250 or americanidiotonbroadway.com.
Articles
4 minute read
"Romeo and Juliet' at Annenberg
Romeo at the grass roots
The co-producers of this touring Romeo and Juliet have targeted communities across America and, in particular, young audiences. But something got lost in the transition.
Articles
3 minute read
McPherson's "Shining City' by Theatre Exile (3rd review)
Shining city, damaged souls
Conor McPherson's Shining City might more fittingly be titled Island of Lost Souls. Excellent performances, particularly by Scott Greer, can't quite lift the play out of its existential funk, nor can a surprise ending that left the audience gasping.
Articles
4 minute read